A Seymour police officer said she received so many harassing calls and texts from her fellow officers that she had to change her phone number.
The example is one of 10 cited in a letter explaining why Officer Lisa Wexler believes the Seymour Police Department is a hostile workplace.
The two-page letter was given to the Seymour Board of Police Commissioners April 15 by Frank Canace, a lawyer representing Wexler.
The letter does not give a reason as to why members of the department are allegedly harassing her, but notes Wexler is at the point where she fears for her safety.
In the letter, Canace asked the commissioners to investigate Wexler’s claims and “provide a safe work environment.”
The No Comments
Canace declined to comment on the matter this week.
An email to police commission chairwoman Lucy McConologue was not returned.
Seymour Deputy Chief Paul Satkowski referred an inquiry to town attorney Richard J. Buturla.
“The matter is presently under review. As a matter of policy, we do not typically comment on personnel matters,” Buturla said in an e‑mail.
Canace’s letter was released to the Valley Indy Monday by the police commission after a Freedom of Information request.
Wexler was a New Haven police officer for 22 years before joining the Seymour Police Department in July 2013.
Hostile Work Environment?
The first three examples in Canace’s letter have to do with Wexler’s status as a town cop.
She is out on short-term disability, according to the letter, because she suffered an injury. The letter does not go into the details of her injury.
Deputy Chief Satkowski told Wexler not to apply for leave under the family medical leave act, even though she was eligible, her lawyer wrote.
The letter further states that the deputy chief pressured Wexler to share her medical info with him. She was then ordered to return from her short-term disability status before being cleared by her doctor.
The letter then raises three harassment allegations within the department.
In addition to receiving harassing phone calls and texts from “members of the Seymour Police Department,” Wexler believes someone from the department stole her W‑2 form from her mailbox in the department.
“When Officer Wexler demanded that a formal criminal complaint and internal affairs investigation be initiated, her W‑2 was found in her department mailbox that same day,” Canace wrote.
The letter also states that Wexler’s department email was “hacked,” as was the police union’s Facebook account, of which Wexler was the administrator.
The police union’s Facebook account no longer exists — or at least is not publicly accessible.
“The Police Department’s administration has taken Officer’s Wexler’s firearm, badge, and police radio from her. She has been told this is pursuant to department policy, but we have been unable to locate that policy,” Canace wrote.
The lawyer’s letter concludes with a request to the police commission for an investigation.
“(Wexler) does not wish to pursue these matter legally; rather, she asks this board to investigate these claims and assist in providing to her a safe work environment, as she prepares to ultimately return to work either in a light duty or full capacity,” Canace, a retired New Haven police officer, wrote.
The letter is dated April 15.
A check of the state court database shows no legal action pending by Wexler, nor has a complaint been filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, where issues of this nature often end up.
The matter was not discussed at the May 20 meeting of the town’s Board of Police Commissioners, according to minutes of the meeting. The board’s next meeting is scheduled for June 17.
Here are the meeting minutes from the board’s meeting in April. The situation was mentioned at the meeting.