Police Officer Named in $2M Hazing Lawsuit, Suspended

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A Prince George’s County Police officer named in a $2 million lawsuit has been suspended following an alleged hazing incident for an alumni chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Police say Corporal Jesse Stewart was cited with misdemeanor reckless endangerment following a March 23 incident that was investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs. Stewart has been employed by the department for 21 years and is assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division.

Harry Draughn Jr., 45, of Washington, D.C., claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was beaten, struck with a cane and told to strip down to his underwear as a spring 2015 pledge of the Hyattsville/Landover Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, according to a Washington Post story.

The lawsuit names the fraternity and one of the chapter’s leaders, Jesse Stewart Jr., as defendants. Stewart is listed on the Hyattsville area chapter’s website as the second vice polemarch.

Prince George’s Police Chief Mark Magaw released a statement Tuesday saying the department takes allegations of police wrongdoing seriously. “The Prince George’s County Police Department holds our officers to high standards whether they are on or off duty,” he said.

Stewart was off duty when the purported hazing took place.

Draughn told The Post he paid $3,00 to join the fraternity for the camaraderie and the group’s commitment to community service.

Draughn and another potential Kappa Alpha Psi member were told to take off their pants and socks and “perform tasks around [the defendant’s] house in their underwear,” the lawsuit says. They were also asked inappropriate personal questions about their sex lives and were told to rub lotion on Stewart’s body, according to the Post story, quoting court documents.

»Photo of Jesse Stewart Jr. from the Hyattsville/Landover chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity website.

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