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Iron Mountain police are accused of sexually harassing and discriminating against the city's first female officer.
Iron Mountain’s first and only female officer is suing the city, alleging she was groped, harassed, and discriminated against before she was forced to resign.
Teresa Williams says in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that she endured years of harassment and retaliation for being a woman on the Upper Peninsula police force.
She alleges her partner, Sgt. Garth Budek, and her supervisor, Deputy Director Joseph Dumais, groped and sexually harassed her and bet on who would have sex with her first.
When Williams complained about the harassment, her alleged abusers, who are also defendants in the suit, disciplined her and threatened her with further punishment, including prosecuting her, her husband, and her minor children, according to the suit, filed by Detroit attorney Jack W. Schulz.
Schulz described the treatment of Williams as “the most horrific” he has encountered in his career.
“Rather than embrace diversity and inclusion, these officers, including leadership, have acted with complete impunity in torturing Mrs. Williams,” Schulz said in a statement Tuesday. “Their actions are disgraceful and they must be held accountable.”
According to the suit, Williams was held to a higher standard than her male counterparts, and she was treated differently because she was a woman.
When Williams resisted pressure to drop the complaints, she was allegedly forced to resign or face termination.
Schulz said Williams took pride in serving her community.
“Her commendable work ethic was met daily with grievous abuse, gas lighting, and discrimination by her male supervisors,” Schulz said.
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