Ex-Elmwood Park police officer suing chief, borough, claiming sex harassment, retaliation

ELMWOOD PARK — A federal lawsuit claiming a former borough police officer was sexually harassed and discriminated against by the police chief and other officers is now in its pretrial phase, and could be heard by a jury next year, according to the plaintiff’s attorney.

But an attorney representing the borough — which has been named as a defendant alongside Michael Foligno, the borough police chief, Officer Michael Ingrasselino, Sgt. Andrew Draing, Lt. John Harris and Capt. Marc D’Amore — said the lawsuit was former officer Francesca Rodriguez’s way of staving off the official misconduct charges that eventually led to her December firing.

Rodriguez filed the eight-count lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Newark last October. In it, she outlines five years’ worth of sexual harassment and retaliation by her bosses and colleagues, who allegedly discriminated against her because of her sex. The trouble started shortly after Rodriguez joined the Elmwood Park department in 2012, after spending about seven years with the Paterson police, the suit says.

"This discrimination and harassment is due to a policy or custom of the department, created and fostered by Chief Foligno," the suit reads. "Due to the outwardly discriminatory employment conditions imposed by Chief Foligno, officers were and are permitted to harass and/or discriminate against Plaintiff with impunity and without fear of punishment."

Mark Frost, Rodriguez’s lawyer, said the department was "like an all-boys club."

“The officers engaged in this activity because the chief condoned what was going on,” Frost said. “He created an atmosphere where officers believed they could do whatever they wanted to do as it relates to her."

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But Arthur Thibault, the borough’s special labor counsel, said most of Rodriguez’s allegations were investigated and found to be false. He said Rodriguez sued Elmwood Park because she knew she was going to be fired over misconduct charges, which he declined to detail.

“She knew that was coming — there’s just no way around that,” said Thibault, who is representing the borough in Rodriguez’s civil service appeal.

Rodriguez, who served with the borough police for five years, is seeking an unspecified amount in punitive and compensatory damages, as well as attorney’s fees. The discovery process, during which attorneys exchange relevant information about the case, will be open through the end of October, according to court papers.

The defendants denied the charges in detailed responses filed with the court.

“We will be aggressively defending the borough in this matter,” said Christopher Botta, the Ramsey attorney representing every defendant except Ingrasselino.

Neither Ingrasselino nor his attorney, Ian C. Doris, responded to requests for comment. Foligno declined to comment. The other defendants did not respond to requests for comment.

Starting in 2012, Foligno routinely required Rodriguez to pick up breakfast, lunch and coffee for him, the suit says. When she questioned why the duty fell to her, Ingrasselino likened it to “performing fellatio on the chief,” and told her ordering food was a “woman’s job,” the suit says.

Once, in 2016, Foligno asked Rodriguez why she hadn't brought him breakfast recently, the suit says. She replied that it upset the other officers.

Foligno allegedly told her she should "continue picking up his breakfast because he, as Chief, was the individual who 'butters your bread.' "

In 2016, Foligno twice asked Rodriguez to “feel his abdomen, for no legitimate reason,” the suit says. Rodriguez complied because she thought he would retaliate against her if she refused, it says.

Other officers also made inappropriate sexual advances, the suit says. And despite Rodriguez’s objections, the department brass allegedly did not stop them.

Ingrasselino began what the suit calls a pattern of sexual harassment in 2016, which is when he showed Rodriguez pictures of naked women on his phone, the suit says. Ingrasselino allegedly asked Rodriguez if her body looked like those of the women in the photos.

Around the same time, Ingrasselino texted her an unsolicited picture of what was purported to be his genitals, the suit says. Rodriguez allegedly complained to D’Amore, but D’Amore did not reprimand Ingrasselino.

When Rodriguez rejected Ingrasselino’s advances, he retaliated by refusing to work as her backup officer, the suit says. Ingrasselino also made routine threats and boasts that he could use his father, the now-retired chief Donald Ingrasselino, to influence the department, the suit says.

Two other officers, Draing and Harris, often allegedly followed Rodriguez around headquarters and requested her location over the police radio, the suit says. They also allegedly made repeated allusions to her body, despite Rodriguez’s protests.

Rodriguez complained to Foligno about the harassment in September 2016, the suit says. But Foligno “angrily berated” her, saying she needed to stop the complaints.

Rodriguez then complained about Foligno to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the suit says. It is unclear whether the Prosecutor’s Office took any action. The office could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Foligno, along with the borough, retaliated by filing complaints against Rodriguez, which led to what the suit calls “multiple baseless Internal Affairs investigations.”

In April 2017, Elmwood Park issued a preliminary notice for disciplinary action, which sought Rodriguez’s termination. She was suspended without pay, and let go eight months later.

Email: janoski@northjersey.com