Report on Lt. Diana Perez' complaint finds offensive, unwanted comments but no sexual harassment

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Acting Police Chief Christopher Pelagio sang bars of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” to Lt. Diana Perez — the highest ranking female officer in the department’s history.

His second in command, Acting Deputy Chief Charles Davey, told a detective to wait until Perez came back from medical leave to install her desk because she has “a wide turn radius,” making hand gestures to insinuate her “wide hips and butt,” the detective told investigators.

During job interviews, Lt. John Anzivino “aggressively gestured towards his crotch with both hands” before suggesting a female candidate sit on his lap for the oral portion of the exam.

And, during a meeting in his office, Capt. Michael Paiva reminded Perez to “wipe front to back” after using the bathroom.

While “objectively offensive,” “lewd,” “inappropriate,” and “unwanted,” the comments are not enough to make a case for sexual harassment, according to a $40,000 report commissioned by the town. Marc DeSisto, a Providence lawyer, conducted the interviews and wrote the report.

At a 2 p.m. press conference at Town Hall Monday, Mayor Charles Lombardi said he was "relieved" that the report found no illegal activity. He stood at a podium less than two feet from Perez, who sat in the first row, her eyes locked on him.

"Interoffice banter is OK or thought to be funny, at times, when we are all getting along until someone either does not like you anymore or is trying to protect themselves for whatever reason," Mayor Charles Lombardi said, reading from a statement distributed to reporters.

Mayor Lombardi's official statement. He said he was "relieved" by reports findings. @projo pic.twitter.com/JMShHbK391

— Jackie Tempera (@jacktemp) March 13, 2017

Perez sat silently, shaking her head.

Perez, hired in 2004, has been out of work on paid medical leave for high blood pressure and anxiety since April. In December, she filed suit against Lombardi, Pelagio and Davey, saying she had been routinely harassed and discriminated against because she is a woman.

She has not spoken publicly about her case, except to say she wanted to “show her face” Monday.

“I want the truth out there,” she said ahead of the press conference.

Michael J. Yelnosky, dean and professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, said as a rule, sexual harassment is difficult to prove. For action to be taken, an employee must show that the harassment is “sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to alter the conditions of the plaintiff’s employment,” according to state and federal law.

It is not unusual, as was the case in the DeSisto report, for investigators to analyze whether a comment was intended in a sexual manner, whether the victim was physically intimidated or if it falls within the “certain amount of banter and gender-based criticism” that comes with being a female worker.

“It can be a virtual nightmare,” he said of taking a harassment case to trial. “Even if you assume everything said has happened is true, it’s still not enough.”

What is unusual, Yelnosky noted, is that the officers didn’t try to deny making the comments.

“The first obstacle of a case is often, ‘Are they going to believe me or going to believe the other person?’ ” said Yelnosky. “That’s not the case here. It was fairly blatant. Not covert at all.”

On Monday, Lombardi was unusually serious and kept his remarks brief — citing Perez’s pending suit against the department.

He maintained that this was the union’s latest ploy to “take over the Police Department.” It’s “not gonna happen,” Lombardi repeated several times.

He also said he didn’t understand why Perez, or other officers, had filed “frivolous” grievances against the town. Since January 2015, FOP Lodge No. 13 has filed 34 grievances against the town and the acting chief.

“If anyone was concerned about the well-being of our officers the average officer around town has garnered $87,000 a year,” he said. “We’re about to be breaking ground on a new facility, a new $30-million facility.”

Asked how this related to Perez’s complaint — which dealt with workplace behavior — Lombardi said: “We have a disagreement on that. The way I see it is — shouldn’t that mean something?”

Perez left the room in tears. She has a 17-year-old daughter, and it’s been difficult and embarrassing airing intimate details about her life in public, she said dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

“You wonder if after everything — is it even worth it?” she said. “I shouldn’t have to sit here and defend my integrity like this. I stand by everything I said.”

Lombardi said Pelagio and Davey would be disciplined, but not fired. Asked what penalty they could face he said, "I can't answer that."

"We will be discussing many things in that report," said Lombardi.

Pelagio and Davey both serve in “acting capacities.” This has irritated many union members because on top of higher salaries associated with these administrative jobs, the pair also collects overtime and union benefits because they are not permanent employees. (Lombardi said he told them “they can’t do that anymore” — but it’s unclear if the overtime payments have stopped).

Asked whether Pelagio and Davey would be hired on a permanent basis, Lombardi said: “That could happen also.”

jtempera@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @jacktemp