A federal complaint lodged on behalf of four police officers and a former dispatcher has accused the Woodstock Police Department of tolerating racist and sexist behavior and retaliating against those who complained. Sue Edwards, an attorney who represents officers Brian Williams, Tiffany Croizer and Gabrielle Lalima, sergeant Adam McGrath and former dispatcher Michelle Sullivan, sent a letter on May 18, 2023, to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requesting an investigation.
“Woodstock Police Department has long condoned and perpetuated a hostile work environment based on race and gender in the Woodstock Police Department,” Edwards charged in her letter.
Edwards criticized the town board for refusing to order an independent investigation, instead instructing town supervisor Bill McKenna to handle the situation internally. “Unfortunately, the investigation undertaken by town supervisor Bill McKenna was inadequate and failed to address the major issues in the department,” Edwards wrote.
Supervisor McKenna released a statement on June 8 acknowledging receipt of a May 2022 letter, “in which the attorney raised concerns about conduct that was allegedly taking place within the police department.”
McKenna said the town had immediately commenced an investigation of these concerns “Although the town’s investigation failed to substantiate many of the concerns that were raised, the town nonetheless concluded that certain information it received during its investigation merited a response,” he explained. “After the town took appropriate corrective action, the town believed that the matters raised by the attorney representing the officers were resolved. Recently, however, the town was notified that several town employees exercised their legal right to raise further concerns with the United State Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC].”
He concluded with a promise to fully comply with the EEOC investigation but did not think it appropriate to make further comments at this time, other than to state that the town complies with all state and federal laws and town policies.
McKenna declined to elaborate on his role in the investigation or on the corrective action taken. When the investigation was concluded, he said, people will see the facts differed from what was being alleged.
“I’m 100% transparent and I’m willing to work with the investigation and hope the truth comes out,” Woodstock Police Chief Clayton Keefe said.
Town board candidate Anula Courtis, who co-founded and chaired the Woodstock Human Rights Commission [WHRC], said she was troubled by the developments. Courtis had led discussions on changes in police policy changes as part of the town’s Police Reform Commission, which was mandated by former governor Andrew Cuomo for every municipality with its own police department.
“The recent announcement of the case pending against the Woodstock, New York police department comes as a shock to me and invokes dismay and condemnation of such harm, as I work to understand the details,” she said. “The WHRC was founded to support the town government with exactly this kind of issue. Had it been brought to the Human Rights Commission while I was chairperson, I believe we would have been able to support anyone who has experienced this kind of unspeakable harm, long before the need to file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission.”
Courtis closed with a reference to her own candidacy. “That being said, I am running for a seat on the town board because this kind of behavior cannot be ignored,” she said. “The board has a responsibility to be accountable if they were complicit in such violations in any way.”
The EEOC complaint alleges officer Croizer had been subjected to a long-term pervasive pattern of discrimination based on gender.” Those include comments about her expressing milk during her period of breast feeding in 2020 as “being milked” and being forced to do so in an unsanitary unheated storage room, which led to medical problems.
Police chief Clayton Keefe allegedly said to male officers, “Who is she to be in here flapping them out? We can’t allow that.” In newspaper stories, Keefe has been quoted as saying he did not remember saying any such thing,
The complaint alleges Croizer was denied shifts due to insufficient firearms training when male officers with the same training had their firearm certification accepted.
Officer Phil Sinagra had commented about his desire to “hate-fuck” and “skull-fuck” officer Lalima, and also expressed his desire to see her naked in the locker room, according to the complaint.
Sinagra has been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the federal investigation, said Keefe, who stressed it is not a suspension, but is a matter of policy.
After receiving complaints from Lalima, McGrath communicated the concerns to Keefe, who was dismissive of the issues, the complaint said.
In retaliation for her complaints, Lalima was required to work more shifts with Sinagra. To avoid working with him, Lalima used sick time and incurred financial damages, according to the complaint.
Officer Williams heard Sinagra’s inappropriate comments and complained to McGrath and supervisor McKenna. The town allegedly retaliated against Williams by depriving him of backup during night shifts and by forcing him to work alongside Sinagra for more hours.
During a town investigation, the federal complaint further charged, Keefe threatened McGrath with a personal lawsuit if he provided negative information. Keefe, it said, had informed McGrath that his continuing to protest about the behavior would have a negative impact on his career.
During another incident, Sinagra was on the phone with his son in the squad room and looked at officer Tiffany Claud and said, “No, I’m not asking her that” and “I can’t ask her that.”
After the conversation, Claud asked Sinagra what he couldn’t ask her
After initially refusing to answer, Sinagra asked Claud if she was interested in an “Eiffel Tower,” a sexually position with three participants, the complaint said. Claud complained about the incident to several department members, who then relayed it to McGrath. Claud allegedly told McGrath that she didn’t want to make a formal complaint because she had seen what happens to females who made complaints.
McGrath felt obligated to let Keefe know about the incident and sent him an email on March 28, according to the complaint. While Keefe did not respond to the email, the complaint alleged, he shared it with Sinagra and later questioned Claud.
Sinagra allegedly intimidated Claud, and she feared retaliation if she reported the incident.
The complaint also alleged Keefe removed McGrath from many supervisory roles in retaliation and reassigned them to Sinagra, a part-time officer.
Former dispatcher Michelle Sullivan made several complaints to Keefe and McKenna about Sinagra, including reports that she had heard him refer to an African-American officer as a “niglet.” She also corroborated reports that Sinagra wanted to “hate-fuck” and “skull-fuck” officer Lalima and spy on her in the locker room.
The EEOC complaint alleged the town retaliated against Sullivan by disciplining her for engaging in an argument with Lalima. Neither Sullivan nor Lalima complained about each other’s behavior, but Keefe disciplined them both, according to the EEOC filing.
Allegedly, the town’s retaliation against Sullivan was “so intense that on or about March 14, 2023 she felt forced to resign her employment with Woodstock Police Department.” She was allegedly told she would not even be considered for part-time work with the department in the future.
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