Female Ex-Cop Suing Telford Police, Borough for Sexual Harassment

A woman, formerly employed as the only female officer with Telford Borough Police, is suing Telford Borough, Telford Police, Telford Police Chief Randall Floyd, Officer David Stevens and Officer David Bechtel for sexual harassment and discrimination, two years after her termination.

According to Daun Lee of Sexual-Harassments.org, Connie McGinniss, 27, of Quakertown, alleges in a 30-page lawsuit, that she was the target of repeated sexual misconduct by the police officers and was fired for reporting the misconduct to supervisors.

The suit alleges McGinniss suffered "stalking, peeping, and explicit language and pornographic displays belittling women," according to Lee's article.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, also states McGinniss was subjected to hatred, dislike and mistrust "and mistreatment of women based on her status as the only female officer in the department."

McGinniss accuses Floyd of making sexual advances toward McGinniss, including inviting her over to his home and to his mountain house, according to Lee's article.

"Floyd continued to make [McGinniss] extremely uncomfortable by touching her inappropriately and telling her she smelled good. Floyd constantly touched [McGinniss], leaned up against her and smelled her hair, and even attempted to kiss" McGinniss, according to the suit.

McGinniss accuses Stevens of following her when he was off-duty to observe her makign DUI stops, according to Lee's article.

Bechtel allegedly asked McGinniss to perform a sexual act, which she reported to Floyd, according to the Sexual-Harassment.org article.

McGinniss said she was fired for writing a ticket that Floyd ordered her not to write, and she believes her firing was a retaliation for reporting Bechtel's behavior to Floyd, according to the Sexual-Harassment.org article.

According to Bill Reed of PhillyBurbs.com, Floyd and other supervisors failed to respond to her complaints. Her hours were cut, reducing her to $12,000 a year from $26,000 a year.

According to the lawsuit, she was on the force for five years before being fired in July 2010.

McGinniss, according to PhillyBurbs.com, is seeking back pay with interest from July 2010, reinstatement for lost wages to retirement, and court costs, legal fees and punitive damages.

Borough Manager Mark D. Fournier declined to comment to PhillyBurbs.com, and calls to police officers were referred to lawyer Chris Gerber who did not return calls as of Sept. 19.