Female SAPD SWAT veteran sues city, claims she was hazed and discriminated against

One of the first female officers to be part of the San Antonio Police Department SWAT unit has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming she was hazed and discriminated against before asking to be reassigned, federal court records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.

Officer Perla Dominguez filed suit Oct. 30, weeks after the city terminated an agreement that paused deadlines to settle previous federal discrimination complaints from her.

Dominguez, a 14-year veteran of SAPD, joined SWAT in 2018 after passing a rigorous tryout process and is among a small group of women to have ever qualified for the department’s unit.

The suit documents multiple incidents in which Dominguez said she treated unfairly after joining the team.

Dominguez claims she was forced to change in a women’s restroom at the SWAT facility, which was routinely used by male members of the unit.

In February 2019, a male SWAT member walked into the restroom and saw Dominguez partially undressed, the suit states.

The suit claims a supervisor then mocked Dominguez in front of other SWAT members about why she needed her own restroom.

The harassment intensified after Dominguez was given a key to lock the room and continued for years, according to the suit.

In November 2021, shortly after officers learned that Dominguez and her wife were expecting twins, a used condom was found in Dominguez’s locker, the suit states.

The condom was removed by another officer and discarded in a trash can, only to later be collected by crime scene investigators, the suit claims.

The department has never provided Dominguez the results of forensic testing done on the item, according to the suit.

Beginning around the summer of 2021, SWAT officers began to harass Dominguez after she refused to take part in a ritual in which SWAT officers hold down new members and bite their buttocks prior to them getting a lightning bolt tattoo on their outer leg, the suit claims.

Dominguez, a member of the LGBTQ community, claims in the suit that fellow SWAT members also made comments about a “nonbinary public figure” in an effort to provoke a reaction from her.

In February 2022, Dominguez received a “below expectations” performance review that described her as “annoyed” and suggested that she seek “psychological services,” according to the suit.

After Dominguez refused to sign the performance review, a revised evaluation that stated she “meets expectations” was provided to her. The revised evaluation removed the “psychological services” comment, the suit states.

Citing harassment and hostility that same month, Dominguez asked to be reassigned to the department’s training academy. The request was granted and Dominguez was reassigned, according to the suit.

Dominguez filed a discrimination charge against the city through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in July 2022, records show.

She was granted a right to sue letter by the EEOC this January.

Dominguez filed a second discrimination charge against the city in September 2025.

She was granted a right to sue letter in that case in late March, according to records.

According to the suit, Dominguez and the city entered a tolling agreement this spring that paused the deadlines to reach a resolution. The city later gave written notice terminating that agreement, which formally ended last month.

Dominguez’s attorney did not respond to a phone call from KSAT seeking comment Thursday.

A city spokeswoman said KSAT’s request for comment on the suit had been forwarded to the city attorney’s office.