Philadelphia Ordered To Pay 2 Ex-Officers $1 Million In Lawsuit That Forced Former Police Commissioner Richard Ross' Resignation

CBS Philadelphia

May 25, 2022

Two former police officers whose gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit led Philadelphia’s police commissioner to resign have won a $1 million verdict against the city.

A federal jury on Tuesday found that Cpl. Audra McCowan and Patrol Officer Jennifer Allen endured a hostile work environment that included being put in undesirable jobs, with changing shifts, after they raised sexual harassment complaints. They each won $500,000.

McCowan, Allen’s supervisor, alleged that former Commissioner Richard Ross failed to help because she had ended a romantic relationship with him in 2011. Ross denied engaging in any retaliation, but resigned, when the allegations surfaced in 2019, for what he called the good of the city.

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