Top Boston Police female cop alleges ‘pattern’ of gender discrimination, retaliation in lawsuit
One of Boston’s few high-ranking female officers alleges a “pattern” of gender discrimination and retaliation inside the Boston Police Department she says led to her demotion and a suspension, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Sgt. Beth Donovan alleges a litany of offenses in a 13-page complaint filed last month in Boston ranging from gender discrimination to a hostile work environment, retaliation, disability discrimination, coercion and threats when she tried seek complaints for two separate incidents that happened years apart.
She is seeking damages including lost wages and lawyers’ fees.
Donovan was demoted to sergeant from deputy superintendent and later placed on administrative leave “in retaliation for filing complaints” against a lieutenant she said assaulted her and an internal affairs officer who ignored her complaints, according to the court filing.
According to the Herald’s public records database, Donovan took home $237,207 in 2019. She is currently on medical leave, according to the department.
The federal suit circumvents an identical lawsuit filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in August, which the city moved for removal of on Wednesday. The case is assigned to Judge Marianne B. Bowler.
A police department spokesman told the Herald “due to pending litigation, the department cannot comment.”
Donovan’s attorney could not be reached for comment on Thursday afternoon. Reached by phone, Driscoll declined to comment. Mancini did not answer calls to his home.
Donovan’s is the latest of a handful of similar lawsuits levied in state and federal courts in recent years by female officers claiming gender discrimination in the male-dominated department.
Women represent less than 14% of the department’s 2,145 sworn officers and a fraction of the positions in its top brass. Of 394 officers in the department’s top ranks from sergeant up through commissioner, just 27 are women.
Sgt. John Boyle, public information officer, said the state’s civil service laws dictate hiring and promotions. He said the department “proactively” hired a diversity recruitment officer in an effort to recruit candidates of diverse backgrounds and says the numbers are better among appointed positions. Mayor Martin Walsh has also worked to increase women’s numbers by instituting a cadet program in 2015.
By contrast, 356 — 63% — of the department’s 562 civilian employees are women, Boyle said.
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