Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello Accused Of Sexual Harassment In Federal Suit

BRAIDWOOD, IL — Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello is accused of making sexually suggestive comments on the job in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed this week against Braidwood by another high-ranking police official, Deputy Police Chief Michelle Soucie.

Ficarello became Braidwood's chief in May 2015. Soucie was promoted to deputy chief a couple months later, her lawsuit contends. In the lawsuit, Ficarello is accused of discriminating against Soucie on the basis of her sex, subjecting her to sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment at Braidwood's police department. According to the agency's Facebook page, Braidwood has a chief, deputy chief, 13 full-time officers and three part-time officers.

Soucie has worked for Braidwood police since 1998, receiving multiple promotions along the way, her lawsuit states. Since Ficarello became her supervisor, however, their professional work relationship has been the pits. "As plaintiff's supervisor, Chief Ficarello subjected (Soucie) to a continuous stream of negative and sexually suggestive comments on the basis of her sex, including bragging about the number with whom he had slept," states the lawsuit filed by Chicago attorneys Kathryn E. Korn and Hall Adams.

Soucie's employment issues at Braidwood were reported by Joliet Patch back in February.

Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello

"Chief Ficarello's comments were unwelcome, and they interfered with Plaintiff's ability to do her job," her lawsuit states. "Chief Ficarello further insisted that (Soucie) drink alcohol with him at inappropriate times and, on one occasion, that she wear high-heeled shoes to please him."

Patch left a message seeking comment regarding the federal lawsuit on the Braidwood police chief's work answering machine late Thursday morning but Ficarello did not call back.

Prior to become Braidwood's current chief, Ficarello mounted an unsuccessful campaign in the 2014 Republican primary to become the next sheriff of Will County. Ficarello had retired from the Will County Sheriff's Department in 2009 after 31 years on the department, attaining the rank of chief deputy. According to his sheriff's candidate questionnaire published in The Daily Herald, Ficarello said, "The citizens of Will County deserve new leadership at the Sheriff's Office. They deserve someone with integrity and good moral character. Someone who is qualified and experienced in every aspect of the Sheriff's Office. In addition, someone who has the ability to lead and make Will County a safer place to live, work, and raise a family. I am that person."

Because Soucie is a female police officer, her lawyers argue, Ficarello treated her much differently compared to the men employed at the Braidwood Police Department. Ficarello, along with other city officials, are accused in the lawsuit of retaliating against her after she spoke up about her police chief's conduct.

On Dec. 14, she provided a formal letter to the city of Braidwood, informing Mayor James Vehrs that "Chief Ficarello's conduct was objectionable."

Deputy Police Chief Michelle Soucie

"In response ... the City retaliated against (Soucie) by placing her on paid administrative leave, supposedly pending an investigation," her lawyers state. "Defendant's alleged basis for the change in plaintiff's status is vague and pretextual and no serious internal investigation has occurred in the ensuing six months."

According to the suit, Braidwood subsequently launched a criminal investigation of Soucie, and her employer has not permitted her to resume her duties as deputy police chief. "The change in her status has caused her emotional distress, has caused the loss of her good reputation and will require her to retake various certification exams before she can eventually resume her duties," her lawyers stated.

Soucie is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, an appropriate equitable remedy to restore her police career and attorneys fees.

Images of Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello and Deputy Police Chief Michelle Soucie via Patch files