A Seymour police officer who said she was harassed by her fellow officers resigned from the department last week..
“I find that I can no longer turn a blind eye to the continuing hostile work environment, harassment, bullying and general lack of professionalism that exists within the department,” Officer Lisa Wexler said in a letter dated Aug. 31.
Her resignation was effective Sept. 1, according to the letter.
Warren Holcomb, a lawyer with Berchem, Moses and Devlin, confirmed the resignation via email Wednesday.
The law firm represents the Town of Seymour.
“The Town denies all the negative remarks and allegations in the letter that are directed toward the Seymour Police Department,” Holcomb said.
Wexler was hired in Seymour in July 2013. Prior to becoming a Seymour police officer, she worked for more than 20 years as an officer in the City of New Haven.
In April, Wexler, through her lawyer, retired New Haven police officer Frank Canace, submitted a letter to the Seymour Board of Police Commissioners outlining what she described as a general pattern of harassment in the department.
The letter asked the commissioners to investigate Wexler’s allegations in order to provide a safe work environment. The issue is not mentioned in any police commission meeting minutes after April.
In the April letter, Wexler said a supervisor asked for her medical information, to which he was not entitled.
The April letter then raised three harassment allegations within the department. Click here for a previous story.
In addition to receiving harassing phone calls and texts from “members of the Seymour Police Department,” Wexler alleged that 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,” her lawyer wrote in April.
The letter also stated that Wexler’s department email was “hacked,” as was the police union’s Facebook account, of which Wexler was the administrator.
Her resignation letter Aug. 31 is addressed to Chief Michael Metzler. It does not give specific information, but cites “sophomoric behavior” in the department that is “highly inappropriate, dangerous and has no place in modern policing.”
Wexler’s lawyer said in an email Thursday that a statement would be forthcoming soon.
Wexler’s resignation letter also mentions that she was subject to an internal affairs investigation. The details of the internal affairs investigation are not revealed, but Wexler said she is still willing to meet with an investigator to answer additional questions. The investigation may have to do with whether Wexler interfered in another police officer’s investigation.
Wexler’s resignation letter, a public document, is embedded below.