Last month, a top Tampa Police Department employee was fired for “failing to meet the expectations” of her role as assistant chief, and little other explanation was initially provided to the public.
The new details came to light this week after the City of Tampa released Assistant Chief Ruth Cate’s complaint and documents from the ensuing investigation by the human resources department, which has previously been accused of not adequately investigating discrimination complaints.
The documents show that Cate—who had been with TPD for nearly 30 years and was the highest-ranking woman in the department—was terminated after a series of conflicts with the chief and other command staff, many of them related to gender discrimination. Her firing came two days after another employee—one Cate supported—gave a statement to internal affairs about a discrimination complaint.
Cate submitted a retaliation and discrimination complaint to the city following her firing late last March. The complaint first alleges that tensions rose between her and the other assistant chief, Brian Owen, after their positions were “upgraded” from deputy to assistant last year. While she was still employed, Police Chief Lee Bercaw advised Cate to resolve her disputes with Owen directly.
Cate’s complaint then says that she was denied the opportunity to attend St. Leo’s command school so that younger officers could attend instead. Many high-ranking officers in Tampa Bay have attended St. Leo’s, including Owen.
A findings summary of an investigation into the complaint by human resources manager Rebecca Carr said that Cate was given the opportunity to attend other trainings, and that St. Leo’s was only attended by four of the 20 current command staff.
Cate did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Last year, the 2026 “shift bid” process began, where employees select positions and schedules they’re interested in and receive new assignments. Sergeant Desiree Croteau, Cate’s subordinate, was moved from the K9 unit to regular patrol during this time, a move Cate said she believes was motivated by “discriminatory animus” from Owen and Major Jason Dilliha, with no more details provided.
Discriminatory animus is a legal term that refers to the intent behind an act of discrimination.
Croteau asked at this point if she could continue to work with her assigned dog, Duke. Cate reportedly advocated for Croteau to keep the dog, and Bercaw allowed her to do so. Cate, Carr and Bercaw all acknowledge that there was confusion and miscommunication surrounding this decision. In a conversation with Croteau around this time, Cate allegedly referred to staff as a “boys’ club.”
After shift bid concluded, Cate swapped roles with Owen, meaning Croteau was now Owen’s subordinate. Carr’s investigation summary said this is a common practice within the department. Cate said she received notice that Croteau was filing a discrimination complaint in February, but that Croteau was advised by counsel not to communicate with her.
On March 18, Croteau provided internal affairs with her statement. Two days later, Cate received notice she would be fired. She was told she would not be able to remain with the department through to her 30-year anniversary in October. Cate was given no reason, and was told she was an “at-will” employee and could be fired any time.
“Chief Bercaw was advised of Ms. Cate’s comment regarding staff being a ‘boys club’ following Sgt Croteau’s initial interview, but was not made aware of Ms. Cate’s alleged role in advocating for Sgt. Croteau kept Duke at the time of his decision to terminate Ms. Cate.” Carr’s investigation summary said.
Cate then says she spoke with the “Chief Executive Officer with the City,” but does not provide a name. On the city’s website, Mayor and former Police Chief Jane Castor is listed as the city’s chief executive officer.
“I asked if I was being asked to leave because of Desiree Croteau and was told by [the Chief Executive Officer] that she could not talk to me about that. She stated she was ‘heartbroken’ over the whole situation and ‘loved me’ but had to do what the HR attorneys were telling her to do,” Cate’s complaint reads.
In a text message to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, the city’s communications director Adam Smith confirmed that Cate and Castor spoke, and said that Castor “fully supports Chief Bercaw’s leadership.”
Cate’s complaint says she did not resign the following Monday as expected, and that she told Bercaw she needed to consult with an attorney to make sure she wasn’t being retaliated against.
“You had the whole weekend to take care of this; you will be gone today,” Bercaw allegedly said, according to Cate’s complaint. Cate continues: “I told him I did not start this, and he told me, ‘Yes you did’, again without any explanation of what I had allegedly done.”
Bercaw’s response to Ruth Cate allegations
Chief Bercaw responded to the allegations, saying: “I take allegations of discrimination and retaliation seriously, but I want to be clear that Ruth Cate’s claims are not supported by the facts. The decision to move in a different direction with Ruth Cate was based on a pattern of behavior that demonstrated a lack of leadership performance, judgment, communication, and a loss of confidence in alignment at the executive level-not on age, sex, race, or any protected activity.”
Regarding Cate’s allegations that she was pressured into retiring, Bercaw’s memo said: “she was not pressured, as these conversations occurred in the presence of the Human Resources Manager.”
But the human resources department’s involvement doesn’t necessarily put employees at ease. This year, the city gave fired ex-staffer Scarlett Lopez a $350,000 settlement after she sued alleging discrimination and retaliation. Lopez’ lawsuit also said that human resources never adequately investigated her claims of discrimination or retaliation. The city disputed this claim, but ultimately paid several hundred thousand dollars to avoid arguing the case in front of a jury.
Smith told CL that the human resources department does discipline employees when it’s determined that they engaged in discriminatory conduct.
Tampa chief of staff and former TPD officer John Bennett coordinates efforts between all city departments, and he is the direct supervisor of human resources and other departments. Bennett and Castor have worked closely together since they both started at the department. When Castor was the police chief, Bennett filled the same deputy chief position that Cate held before her termination.
In Bercaw’s memo, he highlighted several issues he allegedly had with Cate. First, he mentions an incident in which the Director of Solid Waste complained about an “inappropriate comment,” but Bercaw also said this wasn’t a policy violation.
“After this incident, a department-wide email was sent from Ruth Cate suggesting that one group of officers was treated differently,” Bercaw said, “and this was handled similarly to the previously mentioned case.”
This is likely referencing an email sent by Cate in 2024 that talked about discrimination against women in law enforcement. In both situations, internal review found no policy violations.
Bercaw then says that issues arose “following Ruth Cate’s most recent evaluation,” providing an explanation as to why someone receiving great performance reviews would be told she wasn’t meeting expectations.
Bercaw also said that, leading up to the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives conference, “Ruth Cate presented a pre-selected group of female attendees without an inclusive process.” He said that the department had to follow “relevant legislation changes” earlier that month. Bercaw alleged that Cate refused to follow the orders she was given regarding selecting conference attendees.
Bercaw also alleged that Cate objected to the department switching the type of gun it uses—a position supported by Cate’s boyfriend, a training specialist at TPD. Bercaw also said Cate scheduled the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on a day he was out of town.
Bercaw also said that after Cate and Owen switched positions, Cate “was not regularly attending weekly district intelligence meetings, which are essential for the Assistant Chief of Operations.”
“Furthermore, after Ruth Cate’s termination, it was discovered that she had well over 25,000 unread emails in her inbox, with the overwhelming majority being in just the last several years, thus highlighting her inability to effectively lead and communicate,” Bercaw’s memo reads.
In the meantime, Bercaw said that Cate has tried to attend several TPD-related events, creating “uncomfortable” situations for staff.
Cate has since retained legal counsel.
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This article appears in Apr. 30 – May 06, 2026.