Penis Pictures and Groping; NYPD Officer Accuses Sergeant of Sexual Harassment
Brooklyn, NY- A female NYPD officer filed a sexual harassment lawsuit which alleges one of her bosses at the 83rd Precinct in Brooklyn sent her pictures of his penis and rubbed against her while grunting on more than one occasion.
The officer, Ann Cardenas, 29, accused Sgt. David John, a 20 year veteran of the NYPD of subjecting her it inappropriate touching and solicitations for sex, according to the New York Daily News which was first to report on Cardenas’ lawsuit.
In her discrimination lawsuit filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Cardenas alleges that John sent her pictures of his penis and referred to her as his “work p*ssy,” the Daily News reported. Cardenas’s suit alleges that 41 year-old sergeant would make lewd comments about how he wanted to have sex with her.
In one particularly troubling incident, when Cardenas was sitting on a couch in the precinct, Sgt. John sat beside her and grabbed her, the suit continues he “threw me down and held me down while trying to kiss me.” John then “then climbed on top of me and would not let me up,” Cardenas says in her lawsuit.
Cardenas who has been with the NYPD for six years said in her suit that the harassment went on for at least a year, and that Sgt. John would, while in his office, pull his pants down in front of Cardenas, grab his groin and say, “Ann hold this for me.” He would also ask her if his penis was bigger than her boyfriend’s.
Cardenas’ attorney Linda Cronin told the New York Daily News, “This is the worst example of sexual harassment that I have seen in all my years practicing law. There was a frathouse culture in the precinct that was beyond the pale.”
Cronin said Cardenas told Sgt. John she did not like his behavior and asked him to stop. When no action was taken she filed a suit with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the state’s Human Rights Division, according to the Daily News.
The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau is investigation Cardenas’ allegations against Sgt. John. He denies the allegations.
John allowed an attorney from the Sergeant’s Benevolent Society to respond to the lawsuit in his behalf.
“Sgt. John is aware of the allegations and is in possession of compelling evidence confirming that Officer Cardenas is not being entirely truthful,” attorney Andrew Quinn said. “We will produce that evidence at the appropriate time and to the appropriate authorities.”
With such a large force, it shouldn’t be surprising that this is the first sexual harassment suit for the NYPD over the past couple do years. Last year, the widow of an officer, who killed himself because he was allegedly forced to have sex with his female boss for a better schedule, sued the department. Another two female officers sued for rampant sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment is not uncommon in law enforcement agencies across the country and it can be very hard for officers, male or female, to come forward and file a formal sexual harassment complaint. When an officer has trepidation about reporting a coworker for their inappropriate behavior, they may find it easier to come forward when they have a sexual harassment attorney by their side.
