Redlands has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit by a former Police Department employee who claimed she was exploited for sex by a deputy police chief who has since retired.

The settlement with former Community Service Officer Julie Alvarado-Salcido was approved June 24 on a 3-2 vote of the City Council, with Councilmembers Marc Davis and Denise Davis opposed. It is the third settlement in the past two years to resolve lawsuits and legal claims alleging a culture of sexual harassment and cover-up in the Police Department, bringing the total amount in settlements to $3.7 million.

At the center of the allegations is former Deputy Chief Mike Reiss, who allegedly targeted female employees for sexual favors. Reiss was still with the department when Salcido filed the suit in August 2022 but retired in March 2023 amid the allegations and litigation.

Salcido alleges she began a quid pro quo sexual relationship with Reiss two weeks after she was hired in 2015 as a fingerprint technician. Reiss, then a lieutenant, invited her out for drinks at the Doubletree Hotel in San Bernardino, then allegedly induced her to perform oral sex on him in the backseat of his car, according to the lawsuit.

In December 2016, Reiss again “induced” Salcido to perform oral sex on him in his car while the two were en route to a SWAT training event in Menifee. And in August 2019, Reiss again persuaded Salcido to perform oral sex on him in Salcido’s basement office, according to the lawsuit.

“Although we are pleased that this case has come to a resolution, we are mindful that the healing process has only just begun for our client,” Salcido’s attorney, Cristal L. Cabrera, said in a statement on