“The chief hates you.”
“The guys on your squad and other squads think you act like a bitch.”
“Maybe if you have a few beers with the guys, you would be more likeable” [sic].
“You don’t know when to shut your mouth and do what you’re told.”
These are just a few of the comments, allegedly made by high-ranking male officers of the East Hampton Town Police Department, that led one of its officers, Andrea M. Kess, to file a complaint on June 30 with New York State’s Division of Human Rights, asserting that she has been a victim of sexual harassment and retaliatory working conditions, and has been denied promotions based on her gender.
In her complaint, Officer Kess, who was hired in April of 2016, cites specific provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and East Hampton Town’s own “anti-harassment and anti-sexual harassment” policy in claiming her superior officers harassed her and discriminated against her.
She claims she has been subjected to “gender-based discriminatory practices up to and including sexually offensive conduct, constantly questioning [her] integrity and competence, denied training, advancement and other promotional opportunities, punishment assignments, denial of overtime, over supervision, and other punitive treatment.”
Officer Kess said she was twice denied discretionary appointments to the Detective Division despite “outperforming all officers in the measurable metrics of arrests, citations, and other law enforcement activities.” For instance, according to the complaint, she has been commended 14 times by her department; received numerous Suffolk Top Cop and Mothers Against Drunk Driving awards; provided frequent courtroom and investigative testimony, and received “exemplary character references and letters” from partner agencies such as the Suffolk County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
She has been accused, according to the complaint, of having sex with officers and other individuals to obtain information pertinent to investigations she was working on. She also asserts that other women in the department have been subjected to similar behavior, and claims to have heard Lt. Daniel Toia refer to female officers as “girls” and state that “you’re all f****** crazy.”
In 2018, Officer Kess said an investigation into a suspicious vehicle, which she initiated while patrolling her sector, ultimately led to testimony and evidence in a major sex-trafficking case in which 11 defendants were prosecuted by the F.B.I. “Her initiative shockingly, but not surprisingly, was minimized by Captain Christopher Anderson referring to this sex trafficking case as ‘your little prostitution case,’ “ the complaint says.
Officer Kess also helped the A.T.F. bureau recover “large quantities of dangerous mortar shells” in a 2021 investigation into explosions in a residential neighborhood in Montauk. Her complaint alleges that her superior officers told her to “stop wasting your time investigating a simple fireworks violation” and that they showed “no concern whatsoever” for public safety.
The complaint also targets Chief Michael Sarlo, Sergeants Gregory Martin and Wayne Mata, and Detective Sgt. Ryan Hogan. The department now has only one woman in a position of senior leadership. In its 152-year history, according to the complaint, the department had made only one discretionary Detective Division appointment to a female officer, who retired in 2014, and has recognized female officers only twice as Officer of the Year.
Chief Sarlo said in an email to The Star on Monday that Officer Kess elected to address her complaints internally, initially, by going through the town Police Department’s internal investigation process. “At the end of that process, the matter was considered resolved to the employee’s satisfaction and the employee indicated that she did not wish to further pursue the matter through the town’s policy and procedure,” Chief Sarlo wrote.
However, in her complaint, Officer Kess indicated that she had not, as of June 30, received the findings of the town investigation into her allegations against the superior officers.
“The town and the officer have agreed to mediate the dispute” through the state’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chief Sarlo said in his email. “Out of respect for the mediation process and consistent with the town’s policy not to comment on pending litigation, the town and the department will not comment further upon this matter at this time.”
Officer Kess said in her complaint that the chief’s and other supervisors’ conduct “not only serve[s] to violate the public trust, but reinforces the male centric culture that female officers do not serve as equal partners in the department.”
This story has been updated since it was first published.
