Superintendent Colonel Aaron Chaffinch

[Administrator]

Delaware Commander Suspended, Female Officer Alleges Sexual Harassment

October 28th, 2004
DOVER, Del. The head of the Delaware State Police was placed on administrative leave Wednesday after a female captain filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
State police superintendent Col. Aaron Chaffinch was suspended from his duties amid allegations that he refused to put women in command positions and repeatedly made sexually offensive remarks at work.
"He has been placed on administrative leave," said state police spokesman Lt. Joseph Aviola, who referred questions to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
A spokeswoman for department secretary David Mitchell was not immediately available for comment Wednesday evening.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Wilmington, Capt. Barbara Conley alleged that Chaffinch twice denied her a promotion to major last year because she is a woman, and that he has engaged in a variety of inappropriate behavior on the job.
The alleged behavior by Chaffinch includes reciting sexually explicit limericks, referring to a secretary's breasts in a derogatory manner, suggesting that he wanted to have sex with female employees, and publicly referring to his own genitals with a nickname.
"There was even more stuff we didn't put in the complaint because of the whole decorum of the court," said Conley's attorney, Stephen Neuberger.
Neuberger said Conley, a 22-year veteran and one of three female captains on the force, has been denied a promotion to major because Chaffinch doesn't think women can do the job. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that Chaffinch belongs to a Freemason organization that excludes women and minorities.
Conley named Chaffinch, Mitchell and the police agency as defendants in the lawsuit. She is seeking damages and a promotion to major.
Neuberger said Chaffinch's suspension was long overdue.
"I applaud the secretary for finally stepping up to the plate to do what the governor should have done a long, long time ago," he said.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Ruth Ann Minner did not immediately return telephone messages.
Chaffinch assumed temporary command of the state police in October 2001 after Minner forced Col. Gerald R. Pepper Jr. to retire.
At the time, the police agency had become the target of lawsuits and state and federal investigations into alleged discrimination against blacks and women.
Chaffinch's appointment as police commander was made permanent in February 2002.
Since then, he has been named as a defendant in several lawsuits filed by Neuberger's firm.
Last year, a federal jury ordered Chaffinch to pay more than $100,000 in damages for improperly transferring a subordinate in an act of revenge. Sgt. Christopher Foraker claimed that Chaffinch transferred him in retaliation for Foraker's reprimand of a trooper who was a friend of Chaffinch.
In January, a federal jury ruled that Chaffinch and Mitchell's predecessor, James Ford Jr., discriminated against two white troopers because of their race, awarding Cpls. William Bullen and Jeffrey Giles about $350,000 in damages.
Also this year, Chaffinch and deputy superintendent Lt. Col. Thomas MacLeish were the focus of an internal investigation following a complaint by Capt. Gregory Warren, who alleged in a federal lawsuit that Minner repeatedly blocked his promotion because he supported her Republican opponent in the 2000 election.
State officials agreed in July to settle Warren's lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Warren agreed to retire from the force and drop his internal complaint.
An outside consultant's investigation into Warren's internal affairs complaint found that MacLeish violated a job performance standard by using profanity at meetings with other police personnel.
The investigation also revealed that there was no clear agency prohibition against consuming alcoholic beverages and operating a state police vehicle while off duty. One of Warren's accusations against Chaffinch was that he drove a state vehicle after drinking.
Mitchell said at the time that the rules would be clarified to clearly state that no trooper, with the exception of an officer working undercover, can operate a state vehicle after drinking alcohol, whether on duty or off duty.

[Administrator]

Trial Board Hearing Postponed For Delaware Trooper Suing Police Commander

December 17th, 2004
DOVER, Del. - State officials agreed Friday to postpone a trial board hearing for a female trooper who filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against the head of the Delaware State Police.
Capt. Barbara Conley, who is charged with sexual harassment and three counts of conduct unbecoming an officer, was scheduled to face a trial board hearing Monday. She denies any wrongdoing.
Deputy attorney general Michael Tupman informed Conley's lawyer, Thomas Neuberger, on Friday that the state had agreed to Neuberger's request for a continuance, and that the hearing would be rescheduled for the earliest possible date in January.
Neuberger asked for the continuance after state officials unexpectedly replaced the three Delaware State Police officers initially chosen for the trial board with three law enforcement officers from outside the department.
Neuberger claimed the move was an attempt to "stack the deck" against Conley, 43, who filed a lawsuit in October accusing police superintendent Col. Aaron Chaffinch of refusing to put women in command positions and engaging in sexually offensive behavior at work.
Also named as defendants in Conley's lawsuit are deputy police superintendent Lt. Col. Thomas MacLeish, and Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security David Mitchell, whom Neuberger has accused of trying to create a "kangaroo court" for Conley's trial board.
On Thursday, Neuberger filed a motion seeking recusal from the trial board of Wilmington police Capt. Nancy Dietz and New Castle County police Maj. Stuart Snyder, who were appointed by the state Criminal Justice Council to hear the case with Dover police Capt. Ray Taraila.
Neuberger also requested the reappointment of the original trial board members, state police captains Jeffrey Evans and Paul Smentkowski and Maj. Joseph Papili.
"I think this gives them some breathing space to think about it," Neuberger said Friday after state officials agreed to the continuance.
Tupman did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
In the motion filed Thursday, Neuberger noted that Dietz's husband, Marlin, also a captain on the Wilmington police force, was a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by Neuberger four years ago on behalf of a Wilmington police corporal.
"Her impartiality can reasonably be questioned in this proceedings (sic) and the opportunity to take revenge on legal counsel for respondent cannot be ignored," Neuberger wrote.
Neuberger also questioned Snyder's impartiality, noting that Snyder was promoted to his current position by New Castle County police commander Col. David McAllister, who is a defendant in two federal civil rights lawsuits filed this year by Neuberger, who also has called for the firing of McAllister and other officers, including Snyder.
The internal charges against Conley surfaced publicly shortly after she filed her lawsuit against Chaffinch, who was placed on administrative leave by Mitchell pending an internal investigation.
Conley alleges that Chaffinch has engaged in such behavior as reciting sexually explicit limericks, referring to a secretary's breasts in a derogatory manner, suggesting a desire to have sex with female employees, and publicly referring to his own genitals with a nickname.
After Conley refused to be interviewed by internal affairs investigators, fearing they might try to use her statements against her in the lawsuit against Chaffinch, she was suspended for failing to obey an order. The suspension was lifted after attorneys agreed to ground rules for the internal affairs interview, which was conducted this week.