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TAYLORSVILLE — Police Chief Del Craig has been named as a defendant in an ongoing lawsuit filed by a female officer alleging sexual harassment and retaliation from fellow officers after she reported the incident.
Craig was added as a defendant Jan. 26 in an amendment to a complaint originally filed against Taylorsville and its police department in U.S. District Court in December 2010.
Officer Jolayne "Jodie" Sampson's complaint stems from the "personal nature" and "abusive tone" of a phone message she allegedly received from a fellow Taylorsville police officer in April 2007, about two years after she joined the force, according to court documents.
"Officer Sampson received a sarcastic voice-mail message from a male caller stating: 'Hey, just checking up on you again. Wasn't that you on the date the other night? That's good, dating your, the other officers. That's always nice,'" the complaint states.
Sampson complained to Assistant Chief Wayne Dial three days later and shared with him her suspicions about who left the message, but the incident was not investigated, according to the complaint.
Instead, the lawsuit alleges that Dial told a subordinate about the message and Sampson's suspicions about who left it. The lawsuit also alleges that Dial knew the subordinate was good friends with the officer Sampson named in her complaint.
"Officer Sampson received a sarcastic voice- mail message from a male caller stating: 'Hey, just checking up on you again. Wasn't that you on the date the other night? That's good, dating your, the other officers. That's always nice.' "
Since then, the lawsuit alleges that the department has looked for ways to "undermine officer Sampson's credibility and her standing in the department and with the city … by manufacturing incidents of alleged wrongdoing when none existed."
Earlier this week, the Taylorsville City Council voted to indemnify Craig and approved legal representation for the chief and the city in the matter.
City spokeswoman Aimee Newton declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing city policy that prohibits officials from talking about pending litigation.
Sampson's lawsuit alleges that the department retaliated against her by starting an "unfounded" internal affairs investigation against her and suspending her for clerical errors in paperwork, even though male colleagues who made similar mistakes were not disciplined.
The complaint states that Sampson met with Craig in September 2007 to talk about the "ongoing harassment."
"Chief Craig told officer Sampson that he was concerned that she was feeling targeted and that he would look into it and would speak with Assistant Chief Dial," the lawsuit states. "In fact, Chief Craig decided not to speak with the assistant chief and chose not to take any action regarding officer Sampson's complaint."
Sampson also notified the department's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officer, who, according to the lawsuit, "chose to ignore officer Sampson's complaint and made no effort whatsoever to even investigate the allegations officer Sampson had raised."
Harassment continued over the next few months, the lawsuit alleges, including an incident in which one of Sampson's supervisors referred to her as a "whore" in front of other officers.
In November 2007, Sampson filed complaints with the city, its EEOC officer and then met with the city manager and human resources manager, but her complaints were not taken seriously, according to the complaint.
"The city also tried to make it appear that officer Sampson's credibility was at issue by demanding that she take a polygraph examination," the lawsuit states.
City officials also "decided to treat officer Sampson as being mentally ill and to attribute her complaint and her articulated fears to that mental illness," according to the complaint.
In February 2008, Craig ordered Sampson to undergo a fitness-for-duty evaluation, stating in his letter to her that the direction was "based upon the outcome of the investigation of a hostile work environment and sexual harassment," according to the lawsuit.
"Chief Craig knew that there was no basis for sending officer Sampson for such an evaluation but did it only to harass her and in retaliation for her having filed a complaint of discrimination," the lawsuit states.
"Chief Craig told officer Sampson that he was concerned that she was feeling targeted and that he would look into it and would speak with Assistant Chief Dial. In fact, Chief Craig decided not to speak with the assistant chief and chose not to take any action regarding officer Sampson's complaint."
Sampson reported to Associated Behavior Consultants on Feb. 18, 2008, "and fully cooperated with the therapist so that he could conduct and complete the fitness-for- duty evaluation," according to the complaint. Sampson was never informed of the results of that evaluation, the lawsuit states.
In May 2009, Sampson "suffered a serious accident at work when she was assaulted by a suspect," resulting in her being hospitalized for two weeks, according to the complaint.
"Chief Craig refused to allow officer Sampson to go on light duty, although (he) regularly gave light-duty assignments to male officers, even when they had not been injured in the line of duty," the lawsuit states.
"Because Chief Craig refused to give officer Sampson a light-duty assignment, she was forced to apply for and to first go on short-term disability and then long-term disability," according to the lawsuit.
The city also "forced officer Sampson to take retroactive leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, and then to remain off duty without pay," according to the lawsuit. Sampson also was taken off the city's health insurance while she was out, the complaint alleges.
Sampson has still not made a full recovery from her injury, the lawsuit states, but she returned to work in October 2010.
The harassment continued, according to the the lawsuit, including "derogatory, harassing and gender-based name- calling" by two of her supervisors.
In August 2011, Craig served Sampson three notices of intent to impose two-day suspensions for "mishandling evidence," according to the lawsuit. The infractions cited "are commonly committed by male officers in the department with no repercussions," the complaint states.
In December 2011, Sampson was placed on a "corrective- action plan" in connection with the three notices in August. The lawsuit alleges the six-month plan is "far more extensive than a typical corrective-action plan" and that it violates city policy, which sets limits for such plans at 90 days.
Also in December, a group of Taylorsville detectives filed a complaint against Sampson, alleging that she "has made numerous 'unfounded' complaints, causing frustration among the employees and a hostile work environment," the lawsuit states.
Sampson is requesting a jury trial in the matter, seeking back pay and benefits; compensatory and punitive damages; and payment of her legal fees.
Attempts to reach Sampson's attorney, Erik Strindberg, for comment were unsuccessful.
Email: jpage@ksl.com
