PHILADELPHIA – One of a group of Philadelphia police officers accused of a longtime pattern of harassment and discrimination by two female colleagues has had a number of claims levied against him dismissed.
After consideration on a motion to dismiss Officer Curtis Younger from the list of defendants associated in the case, U.S. District Court Judge Karen Spencer Marston kept Younger as a defendant – but agreed to dismiss certain claims against him.
These counts included violations of protections for nursing mothers and retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 and retaliation under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law.
Younger was also mandated to provide an answer to the litigation by May 13.
An amended lawsuit filed Aug. 19 by Cpl. Audra McCowan and Officer Jennifer Allen in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania accuses Ross of failing to act on numerous charges of harassment and discrimination the plaintiffs were facing from fellow officers.
The litigation led to the resignation of former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross last summer. He was then succeeded by acting commissioner Christine Coulter until a permanent replacement was found in current commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
In the litigation, first filed in July, McCowan, an African-American, and Allen, of African-American/Hispanic heritage, both claim to have been the targets of sexual harassment and discrimination for years. In that time, they say they were the subjects of crude remarks, harassing telephone calls at home, unwanted attention from male officers and groping, including on one occasion in a prayer gathering.
Allen, who recently became a mother, added that she was harassed for pumping breast milk during work hours and was also the recipient of lewd humor when she reported an incident of her milk bottle being tampered with in an office refrigerator.
McCowan said she approached Ross in February 2019 about an incident of sexual harassment from a male colleague against her, and that Ross rebuffed her claims.
In response to McCowan’s account, Ross is said to have replied, “So why don’t you just order his dumb a– to go sit down and get out of your face, Officer.”
In the suit, McCowan alleged Ross stated he did not act on the harassment complaint as a form of retribution against her for the plaintiff's breaking off an alleged, two-year-long affair between the two, spanning 2009 to 2011.
Ross resigned on Aug. 20, ending a 30-year career in the Philadelphia Police Department that saw him serve in a number of capacities before his tenure as Police Commissioner began in January 2016, including in patrol, special operations, detective bureau, homicide, and internal affairs.
At a press conference held outside police headquarters on Aug. 20, Ross explained that his resignation came after a discussion with Kenney and to prevent his involvement in the lawsuit from becoming a “distraction” for both the City and the Department.
Ross then declined to comment specifically on the litigation, but stated the allegations leveled against him were not “my spirit.”
“In 55 years of life and 30 years of law enforcement, God and everybody else who knows me knows I have never targeted a person, I have never sought retribution on a person, personally or professionally. And so, I take serious umbrage with that part of this issue, as well as others,” Ross said.
In addition to the City of Philadelphia and now-former Police Commissioner Ross, ex-Commissioner Coulter, Chief Inspector Daniel MacDonald, Lt. Timothy McHugh, Inspector Michael McCarrick, Sgt. Brent Conway, Sgt. Eric Williford, Sgt. Kevin O’Brien, Sgt. Tamika Allen, Sgt. Herbert Gibbons and Younger are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The complaint covers 18 counts against the defendants, including: Disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation under Title VII, violation of protections for nursing mothers and retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, interference and retaliation under the Family Medical Leave Act, disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981, disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, retaliation under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, declaratory relief allegations and injunctive relief allegations.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages of an unknown dollar figure, including: Litigation costs, compensatory damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, pre- and post-judgment interest, a declaration that the City’s conduct as set forth herein is in violation of Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, equitable and general relief, punitive damages, liquidated damages, reinstatement of fringe benefits and seniority, promotion and in injunction preventing further commission of the defendants’ alleged acts, in addition to a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by Ian M. Bryson of Derek Smith Law Group, in Philadelphia.
The defendants are represented by Daniel R. Unterberger and Erica Kane of the City of Philadelphia Law Department, plus Lauri A. Kavulich of Clark Hill, also all in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:19-cv-03326
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com