A Chicago police sergeant who allegedly was sexually harassed by her former supervisor has filed a federal lawsuit against the city — seeking class status to represent scores of Chicago Police Department officers — alleging CPD’s internal affairs improperly pauses investigations when the same allegations are raised in litigation or to outside oversight agencies.
The lawsuit in Chicago’s federal court was filed by CPD Sgt. Carrie Costanzo, who joined the department in 2015.
“Costanzo’s story is but one example of the significant harm that the City’s unlawful policy imposes on its brave police officers who dare exercise their rights,” the lawsuit states. “Costanzo and the class she seeks to represent bring this action to reform the policy to ensure that what happened to (Costanzo) does not happen to other sworn female officers.”
Despite her outcry to other agencies, Costanzo alleges that only CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs could have provided her with the relief she sought.
“Courts, the EEOC, and the IDHR are not vested with authority to mete out internal discipline, including suspensions or terminations, to offending officers,” her lawsuit states. “The BIA, on the other hand, was empowered to recommend suspensions for sexual harassers like (Costanzo’s lieutenant) — indeed, it did recommend suspending him, years after he retired.”
The single-count suit accuses the city of violating the First Amendment rights of CPD officers who “spoke as private citizens” on “matters of public concern” in lawsuits and in charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
The proposed class would include CPD officers who, since Sept. 19, 2023, filed a lawsuit or charge with the EEOC or Illinois Department of Human Rights that relates to allegations also made to CPD Internal Affairs. The next hearing in the case is not yet scheduled.
The city’s Law Department declined to comment on the allegations. CPD does have a directive on such claims.
“The City and the Department will take immediate and appropriate corrective action when it determines that a violation has occurred,” The directive on sexual harassment reads. “Due to the sensitive nature, all complaints will be investigated with care, and the privacy of the person initiating the complaint and the person accused of harassment will be respected to the extent possible. The penalties for violating these equal employment opportunity policies may include suspension and termination.”
The lawsuit filed last month is the second in as many years filed by Costanzo against the city, though her initial outcry against retired CPD Lt. Godfrey “Tommy” Cronin came more than five years ago, CPD and court records show. Costanzo’s allegations center on her alleged experiences with Cronin, though he is not a named defendant in the lawsuit. Cronin did not respond to interview requests for this story.
In 2018, Costanzo attended a party off-duty hosted by Cronin, though they didn’t know each other at the time, her lawsuit states. Upon being introduced, Cronin allegedly said to Costanzo, “Whose hot girlfriend are you?”
In May 2020, Cronin was tasked to lead the Area Central Bicycle Unit downtown, where Costanzo was assigned. It was that summer that looting and unrest gripped Chicago and other cities in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
“Upon Cronin becoming Costanzo’s supervisor, Cronin routinely made sexually charged and harassing comments about Costanzo’s personal appearance in her presence and in the presence of others,” the lawsuit alleges. “Cronin’s harassment of Costanzo escalated from sexist remarks to openly humiliating her and sexualizing her in front of her peers.”
Costanzo filed two Internal Affairs complaints against Cronin in August 2020, records show.
On Aug. 16, during roll call, Cronin allegedly had Costanzo stand next to him, he then “put his arm across her back (hugging motion) and shouted, ‘This coming from the horniest chick in the unit!’” according to CPD records. Costanzo’s lawsuit alleges Cronin made the comment in front of 120 other CPD officers.
“It is alleged by the complainant, P.O. Carrie Costanzo, from May 2020 through August 16, 2020, and on at least fifteen (15) different occasions Lt. Godfrey Cronin #625 would state to P.O. Costanzo that she was the sexiest girl in the unit or refer to her as the hot chick while in passing or talking to her.”
The roll call incident prompted Costanzo to take a medical leave from work. On Aug. 29, she attended a dinner with friends at a restaurant in the Gold Coast. When it was time to pay the bill, a server told her “the lieutenant” covered it.
“Costanzo then saw Cronin, in his police uniform, outside the restaurant, with the clear implication that he felt emboldened to follow her and intrude into her private life and protected leave with impunity,” Costanzo’s lawsuit alleges.
In October 2020, Costanzo successfully petitioned a Cook County judge for an order of protection against Cronin, court records show. Cronin’s attorney later said the order of protection prompted the Illinois State Police to rescind Cronin’s FOID card and CPD to strip Cronin of his police powers.
The following summer, Costanzo filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC and Illinois Department of Human Rights. Meanwhile, CPD’s internal affairs investigations into Costanzo’s claims remained open.
In 2021, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability called for Cronin to be fired in connection with a violent clash involving police who were attacked by a mob near the former site of a Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park. Cronin was not present at the scene, but COPA said he approved inaccurately authored reports on the incident. CPD disagreed and instead called for Cronin to be suspended for 10 days.
CPD records show he retired from the department in April 2022. On his last day before retiring, Cronin was a guest on the “Hibernian Radio Podcast,” a show that highlights first responders of Irish descent, and he said that he and his wife planned to move to Florida.
It wasn’t until 2024 that the EEOC interviewed Costanzo and issued its right-to-sue notice — two years after Cronin retired. Last November, Costanzo filed her first lawsuit against the city alleging civil rights violations as a result of Cronin’s behavior.
That month, CPD concluded its investigation into the comments Cronin made during roll call more than four years earlier. The allegation that Cronin referred to Costanzo as “the horniest chick in the unit” was sustained, CPD records show, and the department recommended he be suspended for seven days — a punishment that could not be served.
