Milford Officer Who Broke Gender Barrier Sues Town For Discrimination

MILFORD, MA — A Milford police officer who broke a gender barrier in the department is suing the town over gender discrimination, accusing department leaders of favoring male officers for internal promotions, including current Chief Robert Tusino.

Sgt. Kara Maguire, the first woman to serve as a detective in Milford, filed the lawsuit in October 2022, but is still in active litigation with the town. The lawsuit will be the topic of a closed-session Select Board meeting on Monday.

According to the lawsuit, Maguire said she was subject to an overly-long internal investigation following a September 2021 incident where former officer Russ Poissant crashed a Milford police vehicle in another town, and did not report it. Maguire was investigated because she gave Poissant the keys to the police car, although she said former chief James Falvey gave Poissant permission to use the car because his own vehicle had broken down. The internal investigation lasted 12 months, but ultimately cleared Maguire, according to the lawsuit. Poissant retired before he could face discipline, according to court records.

During the investigation in early 2022, Maguire applied for a promotion to become a deputy police chief and was in the running for the job along with Tusino and current Deputy Chief Carlos Sousa. Tusino was picked for the job, even though he had "notably less experience" than Maguire, who joined Milford police 12 years before Tusino was hired in 2007, the lawsuit said. She had also been a sergeant for 16 years to Tusino's three years at the time, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that Sousa received a promotion after he was passed over for the deputy chief job — placed in charge of the detective division — while also having less experience than Maguire.

Maguire also alleges the town retaliated against her after she filed a gender discrimination complaint in March 2022 with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) — an agency that investigates workplace discrimination complaints — by taking away her responsibility of overseeing 911 dispatchers.

The lawsuit also says Maguire was subject to sexual harassment, including another sergeant saying Maguire had used sexual favors to move up in the ranks of the department.

Outside attorneys representing Milford answered Maguire's lawsuit in November 2022, denying many of her allegations, and denying the town has any liability.

According to court records, the last event in the case occurred Feb. 9 when a Worcester Superior Court judge ordered Maguire to produce documents, including medical records, related to allegations made in the lawsuit. The Milford Select Board will meet with town attorneys on Monday at 5 p.m. in executive session to discuss next steps in the case, according to an agenda posted this week.