Cathy Lanier: My Story of Workplace Harassment As a Police Officer

TL;DR

Cathy Lanier describes enduring and reporting sexual harassment from a lieutenant in the DC police, ultimately rising to inspector despite predictions her career would be capped.

Key Points

• 1.Sexual harassment was rampant and normalized in early-90s DC policing. Women made up only ~11% of the 5,200-officer department, and harassment — including physical grabbing — happened daily with no institutional accountability.
• 2.A male colleague's challenge prompted Lanier to formally file a complaint. Her fellow sergeant told her, 'If you're not going to stand up for yourself, nobody else is going to stand up for you,' which was the turning point that led her to the EEO office.
• 3.The investigation was immediately compromised. Within 20 minutes of filing, the EEO investigator called the lieutenant — supposedly confidential — who then texted Lanier on her beeper warning her to back down.
• 4.All 17 male witnesses told the truth, but the case was thrown out on a technicality. Investigators sat on the completed investigation until day 91, missing DC's 90-day discipline deadline, so the lieutenant faced no punishment — though he was later terminated for repeat offenses against other subordinates.
• 5.A mentor predicted Lanier would never rise past captain, but an unexpected political change proved him wrong. Mayor Marion Barry's 1998 arrest brought in an outside chief, Chuck Ramsey, who had no internal alliances and appointed Lanier — at age 29 with under 8 years on the job — from captain to inspector over a major narcotics branch.