A New Jersey police sergeant repeatedly uncovered himself to 2 feminine cops contained in the departmental health club earlier this 12 months — then the interior affairs bureau botched its investigation into the incident by letting particulars leak to different officers, a brand new lawsuit claims.
The unidentified ladies — every of whom have greater than a decade on the job — mentioned within the state Superior Courtroom lawsuit that Sgt. Noel Santiago of the Trenton Police Division started to fully undress in entrance of them earlier this 12 months, based on the Star-Ledger.
He repeated the weird apply time and again, the lawsuit claimed, pushing the officers to go to inner affairs and provides statements about his alleged lewd habits.
However one way or the other phrase of their difficulty leaked, and one other detective began mocking them by spreading a clip of an outdated “Seinfeld” episode wherein considered one of Elaine’s dates exposes himself to her, the lawsuit mentioned.
The division suspended the detective, but it surely was too late — the Trenton PD had already “breached plaintiffs’ privateness by permitting a confidential grievance of sexual harassment to be overtly circulated, mocked, and invalidated” by different cops, the Ledger mentioned.
“The notion that such habits may exist … in any office, not to mention throughout the Trenton Police Division, is really regarding,” their legal professional, Matthew Luber, informed the newspaper.
“We’re very happy with our shoppers for his or her braveness in bringing the alleged conduct to mild,” he continued, earlier than calling the Trenton division a “poisonous, male-dominated atmosphere” that subjected his shoppers to “egregious discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.”
Each cops filed legal complaints in opposition to Santiago over his actions, the Ledger added. These instances are reportedly nonetheless pending.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Workplace — which oversees all of the native departments in its jurisdiction — started investigating the sergeant in Could, based on the authorized claims.
He was suspended, however returned to work in early June with out having suffered any penalties, the lawsuit mentioned.
One of many feminine officers even left the division over his conduct, saying that coping with the sergeant’s habits and the division’s weak response was “insupportable,” the legal professional added.
Santiago additionally allegedly made feedback about one of many officers who wanted to pump her breast milk after getting back from maternity depart, saying “the opposite guys felt uncomfortable” about her pumping within the constructing.
He additionally made crude remarks to the officer, casually mentioning that she ought to begin a “bare wellness enterprise,” the swimsuit mentioned.
Each he and the division have reportedly been accused of breaking the state’s regulation in opposition to discrimination.
The Trenton police didn’t reply to a request for remark Wednesday.
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