43°
The two officers filed a civil suit on Friday, Aug. 9 against Sgt. Noel Santiago, accusing him of sexual harassment and other forms of creating a hostile workplace. The officers also claimed the police department didn't properly respond to their allegations against Santiago, who had a supervisory role over them.
Daily Voice reached out to the Trenton Police Department to comment on the suit. The department hadn't responded as of press time.
According to the suit filing, Santiago undressed completely and exposed his genitals to one female officer in the middle of the gym on Tuesday, Apr. 23.
"Then, defendant Santiago nonchalantly finished dressing directly in front of [the officer] before leaving the gym," the suit said.
On the next day, Santiago was accused of being naked from the waist down in front of both officers in the middle of the gym. The accusations include a third incident when Santiago was fully nude again in front of the women on Tuesday, Apr. 30.
Prior to the incidents, the suit also claimed the department denied one officer's request to pump breast milk after returning from pregnancy leave. She ended up using a room unsanitary for pumping and could be accessed by other department employees.
The suit said Santiago offered the officer a "private building" with a women's room and a refrigerator. She pumped there a couple of days later but Santiago then told her "the other guys" weren't comfortable with her using the private room.
Santiago then told the officer that the department "doesn't want" pregnant or post-partum employees "thinking they can get an inside spot."
"They’re going to put you on the street to 'test' you, so don’t complain," the suit claimed Santiago said to the officer.
The suit accused Santiago of talking about nudity frequently with the officer. He had also suggested that she "start a naked wellness business."
Santiago would also change his shirt when he was alone in the gym with the two female officers.
"[The female officers] frequently went to defendant TPD’s gym together, and defendant Santiago's actions began to make them feel uncomfortable and unsafe," the suit said. "If other male employees were present, defendant Santiago would change his shirt in the locker room."
After the gym nudity incidents, the officers brought their allegations to internal affairs. They claim the investigation was a "sham" and wasn't kept private.
A detective shared a one-minute video of a scene from "Seinfeld" when the character Elaine's date exposed himself to her. The video meme also had captions referencing Santiago, one female officer by name, the department's gym, and internal affairs.
The detective was suspended for sharing the mocking video with colleagues but "the damage was already done."
"Defendants breached plaintiffs' privacy by allowing a confidential complaint of sexual harassment to be openly circulated, mocked, and invalidated by defendant TPD’s employees," the suit said.
Santiago was suspended with pay around Friday, May 3 and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office investigated him. He was allowed to return without any disciplinary action around Thursday, June 20.
The suit went on to say that the Trenton Police Department has a toxic environment without proper anti-harassment and discrimination policies. The department faces several accusations of violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The female officers were seeking an undisclosed financial amount in damages, along with significant changes to the department's workplace harassment policies and training procedures.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Marlton-Evesham and receive free news updates.
