Brookline Police Officer Says Harassment Within Department Persists

BROOKLINE, MA — A Brookline police officer who is suing the department for discrimination and harassment and recently criticized the promotion of two officers now says she continues to face retaliation at work.

Officer Amy Hall, who has been with the department since 2001, claims that Lieutenant David Hill, who was assigned as the Commanding Officer for her platoon on April 25, removed her from her regular Brookline Village route multiple times and treated her with anger and hostility when she questioned it.

Patch asked Brookline Police Department's Acting Chief Richard Allen, the Brookline Select Board and Town Administrator Mel Kleckner for comment. All had nothing to add beyond the town's previously released statement.

"I have been victimized by a male supervisory dominated police department now for several years,” Hall told Patch. "I have begged for help from management up to and including a chief and recently two acting chiefs, all men, and was met with suspensions, ridicule and ostracization among other negative behavior.”

In 2019, Hall filed a bullying and harassment complaint against another officer, recently identified as Sgt. Cheryl Molloy, after which she was issued multiple unpaid suspensions and claims that she "continued to experience discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation for her complaints on a daily basis by being ostracized, held to higher standards than her male colleagues and being placed in less desirable work assignments.” Hall took a leave of absence in February 2021.

"I took my complaints to HR and was met with delay and more delay, that effectively enabled the department to continue their behavior and even ramp it up,” Hall said. "I even tried speaking to the Select Board, sending them documents and reports and again was met with, at best, silence. I have contacted Mel Kleckner, who not only never responded to me but actually said in Patch that promoting Cheryl Molloy and Kevin Mealey was okay and that it was given real oversight in their decision. Now I have to continue to not only go public but to seek help in the courts."

"Brookline caring about people is nothing more than talk unless it includes everyone,” she continued. "Recently a man who was involved in one incident with a supervisor received 11 million dollars, rallies were held in town, the Select Board spoke out against this horrible behavior, but when it comes to a woman all is quiet, perpetrators are promoted, and not one public politician asks for justice. I am not asking for millions of dollars; I am simply asking for this behavior to stop. I hope Chief Gonzalez, when he gets here, will see the truth and make the difficult changes that are necessary. We are failing as a police department and as a well-respected town."

Ashley Alexander Gonzalez is slated to take over as the department chief June 1.

A Look At Hall’s Latest Claims

According to Hall, she has worked the Brookline Village route for her first two shifts of the work week and sector 7 for her last two days for roughly eight months. She was informally assigned to these routes for a few years and later kept in those areas by Lieutenant Ilya Gruber.

On May 2, Hill worked his first shift as the Day Shift Commanding Officer. The Commanding Officer on May 1 made the day shift roll call for the following day and assigned Hall to her regular Brookline Village route. However, when Hill arrived for his shift, Hall claims he changed her assignment, placing her in sector 5 and giving her route to the Animal Control Officer.

Later that day, Hall said she went into Hill's office with another officer present to ask him why he switched her route. According to Hall, he "became nervous, angry, and snapped at me."

"I informed him that I was the only female working and that I didn’t know if he was doing this because of that or because I have a previous retaliation complaint against him for the same type of behavior,” Hall said in the statement. "He snapped at me and said it’s not because I’m a woman."

Hall said Hill told her he put the Animal Control Officer into the Brookline Village route because it is slow and he could service both specialist calls and patrol duties. When Hall asked him if he would change the Coolidge Corner officer and place specialists there due to it being a slow route as well, he said he wasn’t going to do that due to an order from the Chief and would only put specialists in Brookline Village and the 555 unit.

Hall said she believes her assigned route was the only one that was changed that day.

According to Hall, Hill became angrier with her after she asked about the Coolidge Corner route and asked her if she would say anything if he put her into sector 7, which she heavily contested in her lawsuit. Hall explained she is now assigned there for the last two days of the week.

"During this incident, I would describe Hill as angry, irritable, sarcastic, and confrontational," Hall said. "He also kept interrupting me. For example, at one point when I was speaking, I called him Sergeant by mistake because of his recent promotion and he interrupted me and sarcastically asked if I was demoting him.”

Hall said she left the office and returned later with Acting Chief Allen present. She informed them she was going to HR to file a complaint, which prompted a sarcastic “Okaaaaaaaaaay" from Hill.

After reporting the incident to HR Director Ann Braga, Hall said she went back to Hill’s office to inform him she was going home sick because the situation had caused too much stress for her and would interfere with her performance.

"He looked away from me and to his computer and responded 'yeah, whatever,'" Hall said.

On May 3, Hall said Hill placed a specialist into sector 7 not the 555 or Brookline Village as he said the day before, contradicting his own reasoning for taking her out of Brookline Village the day before. In addition, on May 5, he put another specialist into sector 9, and on May 9, he pulled Hall out of her Brookline Village route again.

Hall said that when she asked for a blank copy of the roll call, Hill was rude to her and told her he can put people wherever he wants and if people are formally assigned to routes, he’s not pulling them out. Hall then told him Lieutenant Gruber never pulled her from Brookline Village assignment to reassign a specialist the area, when he "rudely and aggressively" responded with "I’m not Lieutenant Gruber. I’m Lieutenant Hill and I can do whatever I want."

After reporting the second incident to Braga, Hall returned to Hill’s office to inform him she would be going home a second time due to the retaliation.

"In a demeaning and embarrassing manner, he snapped at me and asked if I was going home sick," Hall said. "How he treated me was completely embarrassing and dismissive."

On her way home, Hall said she called Hill to confirm with him that she was going home sick because of the continued retaliation. She claims he began to scream at her and said, "I specifically asked if you were going home sick." She told him she was going home sick because of the retaliation and he continued to scream at her and said "Now I have to change you and put you in sick. You call back from sick when you’re ready to come back to work."

"I told him I would and he hung up on me," Hall said. "His actions were so hostile and aggressive that I immediately reported this incident to Braga on the phone while driving home."

On May 10, Hill placed the Animal Control Officer into Brookline Village again, said Hall. A call came in for an injured animal in sector 9, but instead of sending the Animal Control Officer, dispatch sent the sector 9 car instead. According to Hall, this indicates the Animal Control Officer was not responding to both Brookline Village and specialist calls as Hill claimed in the days prior.

"I reported this incident to Braga and sent her a picture of the computer system and voiced my concern that Hill was in fact retaliating against me repeatedly and not following through with his reasoning previously stated," Hall said. "Hill did exactly what he wanted to do in spite of my complaint to Human Resources."

Hall said that on May 16, Hill took an officer out of an assigned sector, something he told Hall he wouldn’t do. When she questioned him, he told her that actually no one is assigned to any sector and that roll call is just a guideline, which, according to Hall, is another contradicting statement.

"I told him he was getting very angry at me and he said, ‘Yes. You are questioning my roll call and where I put people. You should worry about you and nobody else.’" Hall said. "This is the statement I received previously from him and other supervisors that led partially to my retaliation complaints several years ago. I told Hill, ‘This shows you’re continuing retaliation against me' and he said 'I can do whatever I want. I can put people wherever I want.’ I then told him he’s going to have to answer for this when he gets deposed in a civil proceeding and once again and he sarcastically responded, ‘Are you trying to help me out?’"

When Hall again asked Hill for a copy of the roll call, she claims he “rudely and aggressively” handed it to her, telling her to make a copy herself. He also showed her a copy of the roll call for the next day, pointing out that an assigned officer was being switched, and said “See. I’m changing people around.” However, Hall said circumstances changed and that officer ended up on his assigned route.

Hall said HR Director Braga was made aware of a total of four retaliation incidents in less than two weeks. These claims have been added to Hall’s July 19, 2021 lawsuit, which asks for over $5,000 in lost wages and compensation and upwards of $250,000 in damages from emotional distress.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the court date has not yet been determined, said Hall.

Read more:

• Brookline Promotes Police Officers Accused Of Harassment
• Brookline Officer Sues Department For Discrimination, Retaliation
• Brookline Police Officer Files Discrimination Complaint