Post by WaTcHeR on Sept 9, 2006 13:08:23 GMT -5
09.09.2006 - The D.C. Office of Human Rights on May 2 issued a finding of probable cause that a D.C. police captain engaged in sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation against a gay sergeant in an incident that took place in March 2001.
The probable cause finding came several months after U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is gay, sent letters to D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey expressing concern that the department failed to adequately respond to the case during a lengthy, internal police investigation before the case reached the human rights office.
In a 16-page probable cause finding, the OHR states that First District Captain Paula Edmiston subjected Sgt. Terry Boyles to a “hostile work environment on the basis of his sexual orientation” when she allegedly revealed that he is gay in a meeting with other police officers.
The finding says Edmiston made this disclosure during the same meeting in which she announced she was removing Boyles from his investigation of one of his subordinate officers, who had been the subject of a complaint that the officer engaged in improper force against a transgender citizen. According to the OHR finding, Edmiston told Boyles he could not be trusted to conduct an impartial investigation into the improper force allegation because of his “alternative lifestyle.”
The incident occurred one year after Boyles’ peers at the First District named him Sergeant of the Year, according to his attorney, James Pressler. Pressler said Boyles, 46, has been a member of the department since 1986.
Boyles filed a discrimination complaint against Edmiston before the department’s Equal Oppontunity Office a short time after the incident, the OHR finding says. A short time after that, Edmiston reprimanded him for allegedly not processing lost property of a subordinate in a timely manor, the OHR finding says. This resulted in his being reassigned to the position of an administrative sergeant, which includes duties limited to within the police station, an action viewed by some as a demotion.
In his OHR complaint, which Boyles filed at a later date, he charged that the reprimand and reassignment constituted retaliation against him for filing the earlier EEO complaint. The OHR finding says probable cause exists to indicate the adverse personnel action taken against him was in retaliation for his EEO complaint.
Pressler said the OHR directed Boyles and police officials to enter into a required conciliation process in an effort to reach a settlement in the case. But Pressler said the department appear to be dragging its feet by not responding to his proposals for a settlement.
He said Boyles agreed to the department’s earlier decision to require that he retire from the force under personnel rules that call for retirement of police personnel who no longer can perform their duties due to illness or an injury. According to Pressler, Boyles had been suffering from serious knee and shoulder injuries.
He said Boyles also suffered from “major depressive disorder” due to Edmiston’s behavior toward him during the March 2001 incident, which Boyles says amounted to an “outing” of him as a gay person.
“[Boyles] maintains that after he was ‘outed’ by respondent captain, he was continuously harassed and he chronicles a period of disparaging comments endured by him from his peers, colleagues, and superiors,” the OHR finding says.
“On April 25, 2002,” the OHR finding says, “[Boyles] states that he received two back-to-back telephone calls at home. Although the caller refused to speak, complainant maintains he heard ‘… a sound over the telephone similar to the operating slide on a semi-automatic Glock pistal,” the OHR finds states.
The finding says that on May 9, 2002, someone left a large envelope at the front desk of the First District substation with Boyles name on it. Boyles reported that someone wrote on the envelope, ‘Your day is coming. You and your ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE,’” the OHR finding says.
“This process has gone on far too long and has been marked by unwillingness on the part of the department to act promptly,” Franks wrote, in a May 22nd letter to Chief Ramsey.
In a July 18 letter, Ramsey told Frank the department was following various procedures and requirements under city personnel rules and agreements with the police union, which prevented it from acting sooner in taking disciplinary action against Edmiston.
www.washblade.com/2006/9-8/news/localnews/seargent.cfm
The probable cause finding came several months after U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is gay, sent letters to D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey expressing concern that the department failed to adequately respond to the case during a lengthy, internal police investigation before the case reached the human rights office.
In a 16-page probable cause finding, the OHR states that First District Captain Paula Edmiston subjected Sgt. Terry Boyles to a “hostile work environment on the basis of his sexual orientation” when she allegedly revealed that he is gay in a meeting with other police officers.
The finding says Edmiston made this disclosure during the same meeting in which she announced she was removing Boyles from his investigation of one of his subordinate officers, who had been the subject of a complaint that the officer engaged in improper force against a transgender citizen. According to the OHR finding, Edmiston told Boyles he could not be trusted to conduct an impartial investigation into the improper force allegation because of his “alternative lifestyle.”
The incident occurred one year after Boyles’ peers at the First District named him Sergeant of the Year, according to his attorney, James Pressler. Pressler said Boyles, 46, has been a member of the department since 1986.
Boyles filed a discrimination complaint against Edmiston before the department’s Equal Oppontunity Office a short time after the incident, the OHR finding says. A short time after that, Edmiston reprimanded him for allegedly not processing lost property of a subordinate in a timely manor, the OHR finding says. This resulted in his being reassigned to the position of an administrative sergeant, which includes duties limited to within the police station, an action viewed by some as a demotion.
In his OHR complaint, which Boyles filed at a later date, he charged that the reprimand and reassignment constituted retaliation against him for filing the earlier EEO complaint. The OHR finding says probable cause exists to indicate the adverse personnel action taken against him was in retaliation for his EEO complaint.
Pressler said the OHR directed Boyles and police officials to enter into a required conciliation process in an effort to reach a settlement in the case. But Pressler said the department appear to be dragging its feet by not responding to his proposals for a settlement.
He said Boyles agreed to the department’s earlier decision to require that he retire from the force under personnel rules that call for retirement of police personnel who no longer can perform their duties due to illness or an injury. According to Pressler, Boyles had been suffering from serious knee and shoulder injuries.
He said Boyles also suffered from “major depressive disorder” due to Edmiston’s behavior toward him during the March 2001 incident, which Boyles says amounted to an “outing” of him as a gay person.
“[Boyles] maintains that after he was ‘outed’ by respondent captain, he was continuously harassed and he chronicles a period of disparaging comments endured by him from his peers, colleagues, and superiors,” the OHR finding says.
“On April 25, 2002,” the OHR finding says, “[Boyles] states that he received two back-to-back telephone calls at home. Although the caller refused to speak, complainant maintains he heard ‘… a sound over the telephone similar to the operating slide on a semi-automatic Glock pistal,” the OHR finds states.
The finding says that on May 9, 2002, someone left a large envelope at the front desk of the First District substation with Boyles name on it. Boyles reported that someone wrote on the envelope, ‘Your day is coming. You and your ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE,’” the OHR finding says.
“This process has gone on far too long and has been marked by unwillingness on the part of the department to act promptly,” Franks wrote, in a May 22nd letter to Chief Ramsey.
In a July 18 letter, Ramsey told Frank the department was following various procedures and requirements under city personnel rules and agreements with the police union, which prevented it from acting sooner in taking disciplinary action against Edmiston.
www.washblade.com/2006/9-8/news/localnews/seargent.cfm