Park Slope Precinct Plagued By Discrimination: Lawsuit

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Park Slope's precinct captain refused to take calls from a top lieutenant who wanted to tell him about multiple bomb threats made toward Brooklyn schools, a lawsuit contends.

And when Captain Frantz Souffrant found Lt. Kamal Roper tending to bloody victims of the horrific N train shooting last April, he ordered her to leave then stormed off in a huff when she refused, the suit states.

Roper brings forth these allegations in a lawsuit, filed last month in Brooklyn's supreme civil court, that received much coverage for more salacious stories detailing claims of Souffrant's in-precinct love triangle.

But the suit also includes harrowing claims of mismanagement inside the precinct — currently infuriating locals who don't understand why a Prospect Park dog killer has yet to be arrested — which Roper says is the result of rampant sex- and race-based prejudice.

Roper's attorney John Scola told Patch the retaliation began after his client refused to take orders from Souffrant she deemed unethical.

"In the face of being ordered by her boss to do his discriminatory bidding, [Roper] stood up to him by refusing to unlawfully harm her subordinates,” Scola said.

“The hatred towards my client for her actions became so intense that Souffrant prioritized his petty squabbles with Lieutenant Roper, over an in-progress bomb threat in multiple Brooklyn schools."

An NYPD spokesperson told Patch that "we will review the lawsuit if and when we are served."

Tip Of The Iceberg

Roper arrived at the 78th Precinct as a Lieutenant in October, 2021, the suit states, and almost immediately sensed something wasn't right when she was pulled into a meeting with Souffrant, the lawsuit contends.

Souffrant warned Roper that a lieutenant who hadn't complied with “his rules and regulations” no longer worked at the precinct, the suit states.

Roper soon realized those rules and regulations included fixing internal evaluation reports of other female officers — regardless of their actual merit — at Souffrant's behest, according to the suit.

Fellow officers told Roper she was the “perfect one" to put another female officer "in her place" because she was also a woman and so the officer in question couldn't claim discrimination, the suit contends.

Should Roper refuse to help the captain punish female sergeants, her evaluations would "disappear" and she would face command discipline for "failure to supervise," the lieutenant said she was warned.

When Roper tried to submit fair evaluations, she faced immediate pushback, the suit contends.

“As punishment for this ethical choice," her attorney said in a text, "Lt Roper is now facing threats of being demoted."

One officer lowered Roper's rating of a sergeant without her knowledge but left her signature, the lawsuit claims.

"There is rampant perjury and fraud at the precinct," the suit states, "especially around performance evaluation and corrective improvement."

And when it came time for her own evaluation, Roper received an "at-will" status, meaning she could be demoted at any time, despite her male colleagues receiving high marks, the lieutenant contends.

Roper also claims she was granted minimal overtime, while male colleagues were allowed to claim the maximum benefit, totaling up to an extra $60,000 a year.

This, the lawsuit claims, "was only the tip of the iceberg."

“Watch This”

Not all women were snubbed.

Officer Noemi Sierra, rumored to have had a relationship with Souffrant, received special treatment that included ducking assignments she didn't want and taking others she wasn't qualified to handle, the lawsuit contends.

When Roper tried to assign Sierra a New Years Eve detail, the officer responded, "Watch this,” according to the suit.

"She texted the commanding officer," the lawsuit states. "And she got out of it. "

Roper confronted Souffrant over his favoritism in March 2022, complaining about "the gender-based favoritism, and the hostile work environment for women in the Command," the suit reads.

The complaint never reached the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Roper contends.

About the same time, a subordinate Sergeant received a call from Souffrant demanding Sierra was to take an incoming arrest despite her never having served on enforcement details, the suit states.

When Roper confronted Souffrant about the relationship, he directed staff to give Sierra cushy details chauffeuring sergeants.

MIA During Bomb Threats

Mounting tension between Roper and Souffrant not only created a hostile environment within the precinct, but impaired that precinct's ability to protect its community, the lawsuit contends.

Roper was among the first to respond after a masked gunman — suspected to be the since-arrested Frank James — opened fire in a crowded Sunset Park subway station, according to the suit.

Roper was applying tourniquets to wounded victims and helping with the investigation when Souffrant ordered her to leave, the suit contends.

Roper replied she was working on behalf of the Transit bureau and couldn't leave, so Souffrant stormed off, the suit claims.

The suit says Souffrant then stormed off.

Souffrant regularly ignored calls and other communications from Roper then blamed her for not keeping him informed, the suit claims.

In May, responding to a series of bomb threats throughout Brooklyn, Roper claims that Souffrant ignored her calls and messages, leaving her to manage the situation solo.

When Souffrant did call an hour into the potentially explosive situation, the suit reads, he was "unaware of the situation," and instead wanted to review Roper's "perceived deficiencies."

Roper said she "respectfully informed" Souffrant of the serious situation and ended the call.

“Because They Are Too Loud”

The retaliation came, in part, because the New York Post published a story detailing Souffrant's alleged love triangle with Sierra and another female officer, the lawsuit contends.

Souffrant decided Roper was responsible for the "leak" because of her background in internal affairs then began taking action on a day she was out sick, according to the suit.

Roper's assigned days off were changed and, on Souffrant's orders, she was moved to the graveyard shift, the suit contends.

About a month later, Souffrant disciplined Roper for taking an emergency day — which she first cleared with the precinct — because her daughter was sick, according to the suit.

Roper began to notice that officers were moved from her assignment without notice, leaving her short-staffed and forced to assign double or triple duty shifts, the suit states.

“I don’t think Souffrant and admin likes you,” an administrative employee told Roper, according to the suit.

Souffrant wouldn't let Roper attend practice at 1 Police Plaza's shooting range, then called NYPD gun ranges across the city to obstruct her from getting a time slot, the suit contends.

According to the lawsuit, a subsequent evaluation called Roper out for failing to seek training.

Roper wasn't the only person at the Park Slope precinct to notice something amiss, the suit states.

Other precinct lieutenants urged Roper to reach out to the union, because “Souffrant was targeting her,” and it “wasn’t right.”

Finally, Roper decided to file suit demanding a jury trial, damages Souffrant, a co-defendant, and the city for what she contends was persistent gender and race discrimination that created a hostile work environment.

“It is known throughout the command that Defendant SOUFFRANT stated that he does not like black females," the suit notes, "because they are too loud."