Craig v. Metropolitan Police Department

74 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164163
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedNovember 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2011-1200
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 74 F. Supp. 3d 349 (Craig v. Metropolitan Police Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Craig v. Metropolitan Police Department, 74 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164163 (D.D.C. 2014).

Opinion

Re Document No.: 70

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Joanne Craig alleges that she was sexually harassed by a co-worker at the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”), and that when she reported the harassment to her supervisor, her supervisor retaliated by denying her training and transferring her to another district. She brings this employment discrimination action against her employer, the District of Columbia (the “District”), and her former supervisor, Joel Maupin (collectively, the “Defendants”), alleging claims of sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”) and the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, D.C.Code §§ 2-1401-01 et seq. (“DCHRA”). Now pending before the Court is the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The Defendants argue first that the Plaintiffs claims are barred because they are unexhausted and untimely, and second, that the Plaintiff has failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination or retaliation. Upon consideration of the Defendants’ motion, the memoranda in support thereof and opposition thereto, and the evidentiary record submitted by both parties to supplement their filings, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 1

Plaintiff Joanne Craig is a female who began working for MPD as a police officer in 1988. 2d Am. Compl. ¶¶ 8-9, ECF No. 26. 2 In November 1995, she was promoted *355 to the position of sergeant and assigned to MPD’s Seventh District. Id. ¶ 11. Eric Levenberry is a male who joined MPD as an officer in 1992 and became a sergeant in 2001. See Levenberry Dep. 21:8-22:4, 44:1-^15:4, Sept. 16, 2013, ECF No. 76-3. Sgt. Craig first encountered Sgt. Eric Le-venberry in 2006 when the latter was assigned to investigate an incident involving one of Sgt. Craig’s officers. See 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 13. Sgt. Craig recalled that Sgt. Levenberry cut her off when she was answering one of his questions, but that he was respectful to her subordinate male officer. Id.; Craig Dep. 95:18-97:2, May 14, 2013, ECF Nos. 70-2, 76-2.

In early 2007, Sgt. Levenberry was detailed to the Seventh District. 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 14. Sgts. Craig and Levenberry worked in different offices and had little or no contact during Sgt. Levenberry’s first several months at the Seventh District. See id. ¶ 14. During a chance parking lot encounter in October 2007, however, Sgt. Levenberry told Sgt. Craig that a female officer at the Seventh District had made a complaint against him alleging that he had harassed her. Craig Dep. 26:6-27:2; 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 16. While discussing the complaining officer’s allegation, Sgt. Le-venberry stated that the female officer was not his type and that “nobody wants her big stinky butt anyway.” 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 16. Sgt. Craig was taken aback by the comment and promptly ended the conversation. Id.

In December 2007, Sgts. Craig and Le-venberry began working the same shift out of the Seventh District’s sergeant’s office. ■See id. ¶ 17. And although Sgt. Craig would have preferred to avoid Sgt. Leven-berry, 3 for the first several weeks that they worked together, she and Sgt. Leven-berry had a cordial relationship. Id. ¶ 22. Beginning in February 2008, however, that relationship began to deteriorate. Id. ¶ 23.

A. Allegations regarding Sgt. Levenberry

According to Sgt. Craig, her trouble with Sgt. Levenberry began around February 2008, when he started to cut her off when she was speaking. See Craig Dep. 100:3-11. He frequently disagreed with or contradicted Sgt. Craig, and she believed that he did so to undermine her. Id. at 100:12-17. Sgt. Craig responded to this behavior by walking away from Sgt. Le-venberry when he attempted to initiate a conversation, and by refusing to address him when speaking to others. Id. at 100:18-101:1. Despite her attempts to avoid speaking with him, however, Sgt. Levenberry continued to approach Sgt. Craig. In March 2008, he began asking Sgt. Craig questions about her personal life. Id. at 100:12-103:13. When Sgt. Le-venberry asked Sgt. Craig if she was mar *356 ried, she suspected that he might be considering asking her out and told him that she was not married but was seeing someone. Id. at 102:7-11. Her suspicions were later proven correct when despite her statement that she was seeing someone, Sgt. Levenberry asked Sgt. Craig if she wanted to go out with him. Id. at 103:4-18. Frustrated with his refusal to listen, she ended the conversation by declining forcefully and telling him that he needed to “go home and fuck [his] wife.” Id. at 103:4-13.

That same month, Sgt. Craig became the subject of an unrelated and confidential internal áffairs investigation regarding her off-duty conduct. Although the investigation should have been confidential, Sgt. Craig believed that Sgt. Levenberry somehow obtained information about it because he told Sgt. Craig that he knew about the investigation, that she could discuss it with him, and that he had important information for her. 2d Am. Compl. ¶¶ 30-34. Sgt. Levenberry also loudly announced to the office that Sgt. Craig had been “down at IAD” upon her return from an interview there, which Sgt. Craig found embarrassing. Id. ¶ 33. On another occasion, Sgt. Levenberry sat down next to Sgt. Craig’s desk and pulled her between his legs, telling her that he was there for her if she wanted to talk. Id. ¶ 44. When Sgt. Craig tried to move away and to pull Sgt. Levenberry’s hands off of her chair, he refused to release her and told her to be quiet, only letting her pull away from him after she got even louder. Id.

During the spring and summer of 2008, Sgt. Levenberry repeatedly complimented Sgt. Craig’s physical appearance, commented on the impropriety of her attire, and stared at her in a lecherous way. Id. ¶¶ 35, 40, 41. He also rubbed her hair without permission. Id. At one point in March 2008, Sgt. Levenberry told Sgt. Craig “this is where babies come from,” while, sitting with his legs open and rubbing his groin. Id. at 104:5-17; 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 27. Sgt. Craig also recalls an encounter in the summer of 2008 when Sgt. Levenberry interrupted her conversation with another sergeant, saying “oh you think you’re bad, huh.” Id. ¶ 36. When Sgt. Craig replied that she did not think so but that she would express her opinion, Sgt.

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Bluebook (online)
74 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/craig-v-metropolitan-police-department-dcd-2014.