A former Norfolk, Virginia, police officer, Meghan Grabow, has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the city and police chief Mark Talbot, alleging she was forced to share a women's locker room with a biological male recruit who identifies as a woman. The suit, filed on 10 August, claims Grabow's complaints were dismissed by superiors, who told her to "learn to deal with it," and alleges she later faced retaliation, including an indefinite suspension pending termination linked to a prior minor traffic violation.

The case centres on an August 2024 incident in which Grabow was allegedly changing in her underwear when the recruit entered wearing a suit and tie and looked at her "as a man would look at a woman." Grabow's lawsuit accuses the department of intentional infliction of emotional distress and of violating her religious freedom as a Catholic by requiring her to refer to the recruit as female and validate what she describes as transgender ideology. Her attorney, Scott Lloyd, said the case aims to defend "private spaces for the women who rely on them," while the Norfolk Police Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation; the department's 2020 policy directs staff to respect employees' gender identity and expression.