CINCINNATI — A lawsuit filed against the Cincinnati Fire Department alleges a "boys club mentality" within the department that led to the rape, assault and harassment of a female firefighter between 2018 and 2022.
The lawsuit also alleges that, after she reported the alleged abuse, the internal investigation into multiple male firefighters was mismanaged.
Two men who were firefighters at the time the alleged abuse happened are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
“It’s very difficult and scary for someone to come forward and bring charges of sex harassment in the workplace," said one of her attorneys, Kelly Mulloy Myers.
According to the lawsuit, the woman who filed it applied to become a firefighter in the fall of 2018, when the first defendant was in charge of recruiting for the Cincinnati Fire Department.
Attorney Paige Richardson said becoming a firefighter was her client's dream.
“She is very devoted to public service. She’s not only a firefighter, but she’s also an EMT. So, this job means a lot to her and it’s her dream career," she said.
The lawsuit claims the first defendant told the woman he was vouching for her throughout her application process because the city wasn't going to move forward with employing her; in December of that year, the first defendant allegedly invited the woman to his house to play pool, according to the lawsuit.
It then claims that, on or around Dec. 8, 2018, the first defendant raped the woman while she was at his home.
“She was a victim of physical sexual assault by a supervisor and by a co-worker," Richardson said. “She was a very vulnerable person looking for a job, and he used that against her."
Not long after that, in February 2019, the woman was accepted into a CFD recruit class, according to the lawsuit.
After that, in 2021, the lawsuit alleges a male firefighter who is not named as a defendant "made sexually harassing comments to Plaintiff, including statements that there was no place for women in the workplace."
The woman reported the incident and was told an internal investigation was conducted, though she was never made aware of the investigation's findings, according to the lawsuit.
Then just under a year later in 2022, the lawsuit alleges the second defendant asked the woman to drive him to his car after "an assignment party attended by several Cincinnati Fire employees." It was then that the second defendant sexually assaulted the woman and attempted to rape her, according to the lawsuit.
Less than two months later, the woman formally reported both the recent alleged assault by the second defendant and the previous alleged rape by the first defendant, the lawsuit claims.
However, when she submitted a public records request to obtain records related to her formal complaints, the lawsuit alleges the City of Cincinnati did not turn over everything, the lawsuit alleges. Specifically, the woman's own report about the first defendant and a previously filed report of sexual harassment filed by a different female firefighter against the first defendant were missing from the public records request, according to the lawsuit.
When that second female firefighter requested her own sexual harassment report she'd filed, the lawsuit said the HR department told her they'd lost her complaint.
The lawsuit goes on to say that the plaintiff in the lawsuit was discriminated against during the time her allegations against both defendants were being investigated, including being forced to work on the same shifts as her alleged abusers and forcing her to lose out on 100 hours of pay after the city misrepresented her PTO hours.
In addition, the lawsuit claims the Cincinnati Fire Department official who conducted several interviews for the internal investigation was inappropriate with the woman, including making "inappropriate comments during the interviews ... about Plaintiff's breast size."
Then, the lawsuit alleges that the same official — who was allegedly "close personal friends" with the first defendant — contacted the first defendant "to inform him that the charges against him would be substantiated and that the City would recommend termination."
As a direct result of that, the first defendant retired before he could be fired and instead was able to maintain his pension, according to the lawsuit.
"Plaintiff was one of multiple female CFD employees to have voiced concerns about a workplace culture that allows women to be treated unfairly and with disrespect," reads the lawsuit. "The City knew of this conduct and the Fire Department's 'boys club mentality' but tacitly accepted and approved such conduct for years, leading to Plaintiff's rape, assault,harassment and severe emotional distress."
The lawsuit stipulates the case be heard by a jury.
In a statement, the lawyers of the woman who filed the lawsuit said she'd dedicated her life to serving the city and people of Cincinnati, but that the city has an already-identified culture of discrimination against women in the fire department.
"[REDACTED] is one of many women to have suffered during her employment there," the statement continues. "Unfortunately, the conduct in [REDACTED]'s case rose to the level of physical assault by a supervisor."
Richardson hopes that her client sharing her story will inspire other women who have experienced harassment to come forward.
“Hopefully, if there are other women out there they’ll feel empowered to speak out for themselves," Richardson said.
“A woman should not be faced with sexual harassment, assault in the workplace. Certainly not in 2024," Mulloy Myers said.
WCPO reached out to the City of Cincinnati for their comment about the allegations made in the lawsuit.
A city spokesperson responded with a written statement:
"The health and safety of all employees is of the utmost importance to the City Manager as evidenced throughout her 18 months leading the City. Any time issues are brought to her attention she has acted to ensure accountability. The City has no comment regarding this pending litigation."
It's not the only lawsuit from a Cincinnati firefighter still pending in court. Former Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael Washington filed a lawsuit against the city claiming he was wrongfully terminated.
Washington, a 30-year veteran of the Cincinnati Fire Department, sued the city, City Manager Cheryl Long and Mayor Aftab Pureval in April 2023.
He was fired on March 24, 2023. In his termination documentation, Long cited a concerning workplace culture that is unwelcome towards women, his unavailability during a major apartment fire in February 2023, ignoring HR guidance, and his lack of accountability.
In his lawsuit, Washington called these allegations "groundless" and "exaggerated" and alleged that he had no opportunity to defend himself. He also claims Long began a public relations campaign against him rather than giving him the opportunity to be heard, and that his wrongful termination has hurt his reputation and ability to be hired at a similar level.
In September 2023, the city filled the vacant fire chief position, tapping former assistant chief of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department, Frank McKinley, to step into the role. Up to that point, Steven Breitfelder filled the role in the months between Washington's firing and McKinley's swearing-in.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article erroneously reported that Washington was the fire chief during the alleged incident in 2018. Washington was not in that position during the time of those allegations as he became chief in 2021.
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