An NYPD chief held a “greatest dressed” contest for feminine subordinates at a precinct vacation celebration – after which retaliated towards an officer who refused to take part, in keeping with a lawsuit.
Manhattan North Commander Ruel Stephenson allegedly supplied a $700 prize to “the very best dressed girl” on the precinct’s Dec. 13, 2023 Christmas celebration on the Glen Island Harbor Membership in New Rochelle, in keeping with the Manhattan Supreme Courtroom submitting.
Lt. Mariela Matos-Leo, who works on the twenty fourth Precinct, which shares a constructing with Manhattan North, skipped the shindig as a result of Stephenson had allegedly been begging her for weeks to attend, making her really feel like he had “his sights on making her the conquest” of the occasion, she stated in courtroom papers.
Stephenson acted “noticeably totally different” to Matos-Leo, 40, after she failed to point out, berating her at conferences in entrance of colleagues and calling her incompetent, in keeping with the authorized submitting towards town.
That is “how the Chief will get when he’s rejected,” one sergeant allegedly informed Matos-Leo.
“Ladies within the NYPD ought to be judged solely on their job efficiency, not on their willingness to take part in a tradition that pressures them to decorate provocatively at division occasions,” Matos-Leo’s lawyer, John Scola, informed The Submit.
“No officer ought to be subjected to sexual harassment or pressured to decide on between their dignity and their profession development,” Scola added.
It’s not the primary lawsuit filed by Matos-Leo, a 19-year veteran of the division, who beforehand claimed she was retaliated towards by different division staff in 2019 after she filed a legal grievance towards her boyfriend, who was additionally a cop, in keeping with courtroom data. The case was later settled.
She’s at present searching for unspecified damages. Stephenson couldn’t be reached for remark.
The Legislation Division stated town would evaluation the litigation when it was served.
An NYPD spokesperson stated the division “doesn’t tolerate sexual harassment and is dedicated to respectful work environments for our various workforce. The NYPD completely investigates all complaints it receives, and affords a number of reporting choices for NYPD staff, together with anonymously.”
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