01-10-2017
The Wayne County Sheriff’s department disregarded complaints about a female sergeant sexually harassing a male officer. Philip Kozlowski has alleged that his female sergeant sexually harassed him for about a year. The harassment allegedly included references to oral sex, being topless in a Jacuzzi, ’50 Shades of Gray’, and other explicitly sexual activities. This sergeant was also accused of contacting him on his personal phone for non-work issues and locking herself in his office so that she could be alone with him.
Officer Kozlowski complained to supervisors within the Sheriff’s office but they laughed it off. One undersheriff allegedly told him to “take one for the team.” When the female sergeant heard that he had complained about her, she said “Kozlowksi doesn’t know who he’s (expletive) with. I’m going to (expletive) him, and (expletive) him good.” In fact, Officer Kozlowski has alleged that she did retaliate against him by claiming that he sexually assaulted her. The Sheriff’s department investigated her complaint and suspended Kozlowski for a short time. He was ultimately demoted to a desk job.
After filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Officer Kozlowski has filed a lawsuit in a Detroit federal court alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. EEOC statistics show that sexual harassment complaints by men have doubled over the last 25 years from 8% in 1990 to 17% in 2015. Many believe that sexual harassment against men may be underreported because of the societal stigma associated with it.