Global Courant 2023-05-08 15:00:03
A string of cases involving female police officers in bawdy sex scandals has raised the question of whether bad behavior is rampant in law enforcement agencies — and the “Defund” movement could add fuel to the fire, one expert said.
Wild allegations have hit several police departments and prisons in what appears to be a growing trend, with several female officers filing lawsuits against seniors claiming sexual harassment and assault.
The apparent increase in cases is “100%” related to the “Defund the Police” movement that gained momentum after George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department in 2020, attorney John Scola said.
“Right after George Floyd, I saw an increase in clients in all types of discrimination cases with the NYPD,” Scola said.
The year began with a viral news story about a female Tennessee police officer who was fired after it was discovered she was having affairs with multiple male colleagues, including while on duty. Months after news broke of former officer Maegan Hall’s affairs, she announced a lawsuit alleging she was sexually “groomed” before the tryst.
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Former Police Officer Maegan Hall of the La Vergne Police Department. (La Vergne Police/Facbeook)
That was one of many instances where some questioned whether sexual misconduct within the department was more widespread than some thought.
Scola that before the “Defund the Police” movement, members of the force who faced harassment probably didn’t come forward for fear of going against the NYPD’s “family.” However, after Floyd’s death on Memorial Day 2020, as protests and riots swept the country amid furious anti-police sentiment, officers shifted their thinking process, Scola argued.
“With ‘Defund the Police’ and lack of support, I think a lot of people who were harassed… made it easier for them to come forward and really expose how they were being treated.”
Protesters hold a sign reading “Defund the Police” during a protest over the death of a black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit cap over his head during an arrest on March 23 in Rochester, New York, 6 September. 2020. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
Fox News Digital previously reported on a lawsuit in Michigan from a former female officer, Teresa Williams, who this year sued her department over claims she was groped, coaxed into kissing a senior officer over alcoholic beverages and “on a completely different standard” at work than her peers.
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“I want my story to be told because I want people to know — other women know — that they’re not alone,” Williams told the Detroit Free Press. “And I want other women to know that it’s okay to be embarrassed about things like this… You shouldn’t have to hide from it. People must be held responsible for this kind of bullshit.’
Former Police Officer Teresa Williams of the Iron Mountain Police Department. (Schulz law)
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Williams told local media she felt “helpless” to do anything about the alleged harassment she faced, including feeling pressured to perform oral sex on her partner.
“If I didn’t go along with what was going on, they would ruin me and make my life hell,” she said.
A female LAPD officer filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles this year, claiming she had been subjected to online harassment for reporting co-workers for memes she found sexist. In Alabama, a sheriff’s office last month settled a lawsuit that alleged inmates at a prison could go on to sexually harass female guards with impunity. In Pennsylvania, a female officer who filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against her department in 2020 saw her lawsuit go to U.S. district court this year.
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While it is often women who file lawsuits against police departments over sexual harassment allegations, a male NYPD officer is currently in the middle of a legal battle alleging that his female superior “violently” shoved her panties into his mouth.
Other cases of police sexual impropriety have also played out this year, although they have not resulted in any lawsuits. In Texas, for example, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office last month investigated a trove of racy text messages between a married female 911 dispatcher and seven different law enforcement officers.
Scola said that as “more women work up the courage to come forward, it leads to other women seeing that and doing the same.” He added that he doesn’t believe police harassment is more or less common now, “it’s just more common now that you hear about it.”
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Ammy Ventura filed a lawsuit against her boss at the NYPD on Tuesday. (John Scola)
Scola is currently representing a civilian employee of the NYPD’s Property Division, Ammy Ventura, who has filed a lawsuit against her superior, a New York City Police Department lieutenant. The lawsuit alleges that what began as a romantic affair led to Ventura being sexually harassed, assaulted and her life repeatedly threatened.
“I want you to delete all of your phone pictures and text and we are now not talking on the regular phone anymore. I will only contact you via WhatsApp, and if you don’t delete it I will f—ing kill you and pushing you in front of a train,” the police lieutenant is said to have told Ventura when other members of the department discovered the couple’s previous relationship.
Scola pointed to another case, settled for $800,000 last year, when NYPD Captain Sharon Carolyn Balli raised the alarm against a fellow captain who repeatedly questioned her about her sex life and allegedly attempted to catch her in various states of undress. . When the female NYPD captain reported the alleged harassment to a force commander, her complaint of discrimination was buried, Balli said as the lawsuit made its way through the court system.
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“The first people to break through really led the charge on these other people to come forward,” Scola said. “And ultimately, no one should be harassed in the workplace.”
