Neptune Cop Sex Harassment Probe: Private Parts Jokes, Immaturity

Supporters of two female police officers who accused Neptune Township of sexual harassment fired back this week at officials who they believe continue to discredit their claims.

They slammed a 4-year-old report released this past week (see report below) that detailed a private investigator's probe and largely concluded the claims were not credible, according to The Asbury Park Press. The report, produced by Gregory K. Turner Investigations & Consulting LLC, looked into allegations that were made by police officers Christine Savage and Elena Gonzalez.

The township, without admitting any wrongdoing, settled the suit by paying $330,000 to Savage and Gonzalez, according to nj.com. Both women were also promoted, but last year, Gonzalez asserted that the harassing behavior has continued, singling out Police Director Michael Bascomb and Chief of Police James Hunt for criticism.

"If the leadership standing on this side over here....were employed by the Fox News Channel, most of the superior officers would have been dismissed from their posts and terminated for their misogynistic ways and sexually and racially discriminatory and retaliatory conduct a long time ago," Gonzalez read from a prepared statement, as reported by nj.com.

Both women subsequently have filed new lawsuits against the township, alleging the harassment and discrimination never abated, according to The Press report. Gonzalez left the force in April 2017, while Savage continues to serve on the police force.

In the report, Turner found that there was no harassment directed specifically toward Gonzalez when a vehicle she used for duty had a magnet placed on it that stated, "I (heart-shaped sign) my penis," according to The Press. Savage and Gonzalez also both complained that they witnessed a male police officer, identified in the report as "E," place his hands in the area of his genitals, point his penis at others as if he is shooting them, and say 'pow-pow-pow.'"

Turner found that the car incident did not rise to the level of harassment "but simply reveals the immaturity of others," according to another Press report, noting the car was used by several officers in the department.

"I think it’s an outrageous characterization of what was going on," Donald F. Burke, an attorney representing officers Elena Gonzalez and Christine Savage, told The Press. "This is the whole idea of the #MeToo moment, these women stood up and said we shouldn’t have to go along with this (treatment) just because they say 'it's not harassment' — we feel it's harassment," Michael Golub, a former township committee member, also said.

Photo via Shutterstock