A former Lombard police officer is seeking at least $5.6 million in a federal lawsuit against top-ranking Police Department officials who she alleges sexually harassed her and discriminated against her.
Megan Murray was a Lombard police officer from March 1993 until she was fired in December 1994. During that time, Murray’s attorneys said, ranking police officers made sexist comments about women, let officers watch adult movies at the station, and singled her out to respond to more calls than her male counterparts.
Among the defendants on trial are Chief of Police Leon Kutzke, Deputy Chief Dane Cuny, former Deputy Chief Steven Williams, and Lts. James Glennon, Daniel Neustadt and Scott Watkins.
The trial began Monday.
Attorneys for Lombard said Murray was treated no differently than other recruits.
But Murray’s attorneys said that she complained to her supervisors that she was being harassed and discriminated against and that the supervisors did not properly investigate her complaints or discipline the officers.
Glennon told a federal jury of six women and two men in Chicago Wednesday that although Murray received a satisfactory evaluation in November 1993, she developed a “poor attitude,” was not focused on her training, and had “significant problems just writing her (police) reports.”
Soon after the village hired Murray, Glennon testified, a rumor surfaced that she was a “radical feminist” because she had complained about a male rookie during police academy.
Because of that rumor, Glennon said, “I had guys saying, `I’m not going on calls with her.’ ” As the assistant training director for recruits, Glennon testified, “I told my guys, `Give her a chance.’ “
Glennon acknowledged during his testimony that he was reprimanded in December 1993 for making remarks over the Police Department’s public-address system that could be taken as sexually suggestive.
John DeRose, one of Murray’s attorneys, said Glennon knew police officers watched “dirty movies” on Friday and Saturday nights at the police station. But Glennon, an 18-year veteran of the department, testified that the day he walked in and saw the officers watching “soft-porn movies,” it was the first time he knew that the station had such cable television channels. Glennon said he reported it to the deputy chief, and the movie channels were canceled.
Murray’s attorneys said that Glennon frequently made sexual comments to her, including that she “had better get used to a life of infidelity, because that’s what being a cop is all about.”
Glennon allegedly called off backup officers or refused to back her up, “placing her in dangerous situations,” according to the complaint.
Murray alleged that during one call to a suburban store, she was seriously injured when Glennon did not back her up. The details of the incident and the nature of her injuries were not disclosed in court or in the lawsuit.
Glennon testified that he responded as soon as he received Murray’s call for backup. By the time he arrived, she was “severely injured,” according to her attorneys, who did not elaborate.
According to the lawsuit, Murray’s injury prompted Sgt. Watkins and Lt. Neustadt to make sexist comments about how fragile women are and that they “should not be in this line of work.” During the several months that Murray took off work because of her injury, village detectives followed her, and mail was taken from her police department mailbox, according to the lawsuit.
Murray’s lawyers said Glennon slandered her by telling officers that she was not fit to be a police officer and “can’t handle the job,” according to the lawsuit.
“You can’t stand Megan Murray’s guts, can you?” DeRose asked Glennon during his testimony.
Glennon gave a deep sigh, then said, “I really don’t know how to answer that.”
“You said it in other depositions, haven’t you?” DeRose demanded.
“I said I hate her guts,” Glennon said.
Murray’s attorneys claim in the suit that she is suffering from depression and “lives in constant fear for her safety” because Lombard detectives allegedly have followed her.
The trial is expected to conclude in early December.
