Brookline Officer Sues Department For Discrimination, Retaliation

BROOKLINE, MA — A police officer who previously filed discrimination and harassment complaints against the Brookline Police Department is now suing the department, according to court documents filed in Norfolk Superior Court on July 19.

Officer Amy Hall, who has been with the department since 2001, is asking for over $5,000 in lost wages and compensation and upwards of $250,000 in damages from emotional distress.

Here's what happened:

Hall's case begins in February 2019, when she filed a bullying and harassment complaint against another officer. An investigation into the matter commenced, but her superiors decided Hall should be disciplined for failing to follow a direct order and not cooperating with a department investigation. At the related disciplinary meeting in April 2019, Hall agreed to a 15-day unpaid suspension as part of a settlement.

In May 2019, Hall filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission on Discrimination in relation to the first suspension. Several months later, she found a flier in her mailbox related to her discipline and took it to her supervisors, as she interpreted it as an attempt to harass her. An investigation was conducted, but Hall found it difficult to get a copy of the report once it was complete.

On September 5, 2019, Hall was granted to return to the station during a patrol shift, planning to once again ask her supervisors for a copy of the investigation report. Meanwhile, while she was at the station, dispatch asked her to meet with a resident who had come into the station to make a report.

Hall acknowledged the call, but allegedly continued to search for the report and the resident left about 30 minutes after Hall received the dispatch.

Hall's supervisors later questioned her about the incident and asked her to write a report, leading to her being issued a five-day unpaid suspension. She appealed the suspension and lost, ultimately taking her appeal to the Civil Service Commission, which ruled in April 2020 that "bias and personal animus" contributed the department's decision to investigate and suspend Hall.

Despite the ruling, Hall claims that she “continued to experience discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation for her complaints on a daily basis by being ostracized, held to higher standards than her male colleagues and being placed in less desirable work assignments.” She took a leave of absence in February 2021.

According to court documents, Hall claims male officers are treated more leniently and are less likely to be disciplined. She also reported that a police sergeant who repeatedly retaliated against her humiliated her on social media.

Read Amy Hall's Civil Complaint against the Brookline Police Department: