Philadelphia police car. Photo: Shutterstock

A female Philadelphia police sergeant has sued the city, alleging her superiors retaliated against her for reporting a lieutenant's pattern of sexual harassment against women in the department.

In a complaint filed Thursday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, plaintiff Christina Mellett claimed reporting Lt. Richard Frank's alleged sexual harassment of other female officers led to increased workplace hostility and a subsequent pattern of discrimination, including reassignment, demotion and disciplinary action.

Her suit comes eight months after two other female officers sued the department for sexual harassment in August, and is part of a growing number of active harassment lawsuits brought by female officers against the Philadelphia Police Department.

After Mellett reported that Frank had touched his genitals while speaking to subordinate female officers, the department allegedly "responded by retaliating and discriminating against her by falsely and maliciously writing her up with a disciplinary action based on her complaints; repeatedly failing to promote her (while promoting less qualified male employees); and, subjecting her to a retaliatory and sex-based hostile work environment," according to the complaint.

The City Law Department declined to comment on the lawsuit. Mellett's attorney, Caren Gurmankin of Console Mattiacci Law, also declined to comment.

Mellett made multiple reports to her superior, former Captain John Hearn, about Frank, according to the complaint. Afterward "plaintiff was in her office at work when Lt. Frank kicked the door open and began screaming and ranting" at her, the complaint said. He allegedly screamed at her again two days later.

Mellett alleged that Hearn failed to address the situation and when she brought up filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, he attempted to discourage it. According to the complaint, Hearn said Mellett should just sit back and watch as such situations tend to work themselves out. However, in July 2017, Mellett filed a complaint with internal affairs.

Eventually, Frank was given a deal consisting of a 10-day suspension and a demotion, which allowed him to retire with a full pension, the complaint said. In 2018, however, Mellett was hit with a disciplinary charge for failing to properly investigate female officers' claims against Frank, claiming she "made no attempt to dispel and/or confirm the legitimacy" of the claims. She was allegedly told she needed to plead guilty if she wanted to be promoted to lieutenant.

Additionally, Mellett claimed she was treated with hostility by Special Victims Unit Inspector Anthony Washington for filing a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission complaint. She alleged Washington, in retaliation, assigned her to foot patrol, which would have given her less time to perform her administrative duties, setting her up to fail, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleged Captain Frank Palumbo told Mellett "that Inspector Washington said that he would do whatever it took to prevent her from getting promoted to lieutenant, and that he would give her the least desirable assignments." Palumbo also allegedly told Mellett that Washington disliked female supervisors.

"Plaintiff was aware that Inspector Washington had previously been accused of sexually harassing multiple female police officers, that defendant had spent just under $200,000 to settle claims of sexual harassment against him between 2011 and 2014, and that he had been promoted to oversee the Department's Special Victims Unit even after those accusations and settlements," the complaint said.

Mellett was ultimately passed over for promotion to lieutenant, and was demoted, the complaint said.

In a separate legal action filed in August, former corporal Audra McCowan and officer Jennifer Allen alleged they were the targets of retribution for complaining about sexual harassment in the department.

Soon after those lawsuits were filed, then-Commissioner Richard Ross resigned. McCowan claimed Ross ignored her sexual harassment complaint against another officer in retaliation for her ending an affair the two had from 2009-2011. Ross denied any wrongdoing.

In 2014, the city paid $1.25 million to settle former officer Michelle Vandergrift's lawsuit alleging former Chief Inspector Carl Holmes sexually harassed and assaulted her. Two other female officers filed harassment claims against Holmes. He was indicted earlier this month on charges of aggravated indecent assault.