Judge won't dismiss sexuαl harassment lawsuit despite argument N.J. officers used 'Big Blue' on men and women
Mountainside, N.J., has asked a judge to throw out a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against the borough by five police officers and a dispatcher because the harassment was targeted at both men and women.
The instances of alleged misconduct, dating back to 1998, include Det. Sgt. Andrew Huber apparently antagonizing other officers with a dildο nicknamed “Big Blue.” According to NJ.com, Huber, 44, would chase the borough’s fire chief, Anthony Pecorelli, around while the police chief, Allan Attanasio, would chant “words of encouragement” like “Get him!” and “Put it in his mouth!”
Huber, who was at one point the school district’s resource officer, would also allegedly hide in a stall of the men’s locker room naked trying to surprise other officers. According to the suit, Huber would also “tuck his ρenis and testicles between his legs to look like a woman’s groin area” and “touch or try to touch the officers while he still had his ρenis and testicles tucked.”
Lt. Thomas Murphy and Huber also allegedly “brained” people’s food, drinks, or persons. “Braining” is what the officers called putting their testicles on an object.
NJ.com lists 23 allegations against the officers, including claims in which Huber told a part-time female dispatcher he “wanted to sniff her chair” and offered to inseminate her.
Mountainside attorney Christine A. Amalfe sought the dismissal from Superior Court Judge Camille M. Kenny, stating that the suing officers didn’t support their claims of a hostile work environment due to sexual harassment and retaliation. Amalfe argues that the harassment couldn’t be targeted toward the woman who sued, because men were also the target of the harassment.
“Taken as true for purposes of this motion only, the allegations establish that certain male officers were equally crude and vulgar to all employees, regardless of their sex,” she wrote. She goes on to argue that the allegations are playing into “eye-popping headlines and current climate concerning sexual harassment in the workplace.”
The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Charles J. Sciarra and Matthew R. Curran, responded to her argument, “Stated differently, Mountainside proposes that as long as [the offending officers] sexually harassed both men and women, plaintiffs have no rights” and that the “officers were ‘equal opportunity or bisexual’ harassers.”
On Monday, Judge Kenny denied a motion by the borough to dismiss the 45-page lawsuit. Judge Kenny did, however, dismiss claims by three of the staffers that they were victims of retaliation, and they will be allowed to file a new case.
The Mountainside Police Department did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
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