New Castle County announced Tuesday night it has settled a federal lawsuit claiming decades of sexual harassment and cover-ups in its police department, largely by an officer who rose to the agency’s second-highest rank.
The announcement came a little over an hour after county council passed a pair of proposals to allow the county to dip into its tax reserve to cover legal fees to the tune of about $3 million. About $1.7 million of that will go to “partially fund” settling claims that various members of the county allowed now-retired Lt. Col. Quinton Watson to continue decades of sexual harassment and abuse.
“There is no place in the County for harassment in any form, particularly when based on sex, race, age, disability, or any other protected category,” read a joint statement issued by a spokesman for County Executive Matt Meyer on behalf of New Castle County and the six women who filed the lawsuit. “No individual should be expected to tolerate such conduct, and the County is grateful for these brave women that brought this disturbing conduct into the light, and applauds their courage.
“The County acknowledges and is sorry that these women experienced such inappropriate conduct. The County remains unwavering in its commitment to eliminate inappropriate conduct in the workplace. The County is taking steps to expand its policies and practices in furtherance of this commitment.”
News of the agreement comes after the county spent more than $1.2 million in legal fees since the lawsuit’s filing in 2020, according to the proposal passed Tuesday.
While it’s unclear what the terms of the settlement are, the ordinance says the county, on advice of its counsel, “has agreed with the plaintiffs to settle the lawsuit, contingent on Council’s approval of the funding of the settlement amount ….”
Watson has agreed to pay an amount directly to the plaintiffs to settle their claims against him, according to the passed ordinance. The law also stipulates no portion of the $1.7 million would be used to “pay the amounts Watson has agreed to pay the plaintiffs.”
Ten council members voted to pass the items, while Councilwoman Dee Durham voted present on both ordinances and Councilmen Penrose Hollins and Bill Bell were absent.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2020, came after six women detailed their experiences at the department to Delaware Online/The News Journal earlier that year. The women shared their stories with the newspaper after what they called years of inaction by the department and county.
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Even before the lawsuit was filed, the women said they were not interested in money from the county but rather public acknowledgement that this conduct happened. The attorney representing the women could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Tuesday night’s statement from the county said none of Watson’s “incidents of misconduct” took place under the current county executive’s tenure which began in January 2017.
Watson was allowed to retire in “good standing” in 2019 despite being under investigation for these allegations. The investigation was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department, which sent letters to five of the women saying their claims were sustained.
Tuesday’s statement also claims that as a result of this litigation, Watson has surrendered his police certification issued through the Delaware Council on Police Training and has further surrendered his New Castle County retiree credentials, which include his police retirement badge and police retirement identification card issued by New Castle County Police Department.
After Wilmington Police’s investigation, the women approached the state Attorney General’s Office and a second investigation into their complaints was quietly initiated.
This investigation by the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust found that the three-year statute of limitations had passed to prosecute sexual harassment crimes by a public employee. But Chief Deputy Attorney General Alexander S. Mackler wrote in a letter to New Castle County Council’s attorney that the findings were “disturbing.”
Though they could not criminally prosecute, the Delaware Department of Justice retained the private law firm Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP “to investigate whether the NCCPD has engaged in a pattern and practice of discriminatory conduct in violation of Delaware law, and if warranted, initiate enforcement proceedings against the County in Delaware’s Court of Chancery,” Mackler wrote.
He also wrote that given the investigation’s findings, the matter is not considered closed.
The Department of Justice, on Tuesday, said the investigation is ongoing.
In their 40-page complaint, the women argued that Watson “set workplace precedent and spawned a hostile environment of rampant sexual harassment, sexual assault, overt misogyny, and retaliation among female employees within the NCC government.”
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The 40-page lawsuit goes on to say Watson “normalized the practice of preying on subordinate female employees which Defendant NCC covered up for years, allowing Defendant Watson, as an abuser, to thrive.”
The women – who at the time were five current officers and one retired – argue in the filling that not only were they discriminated against because of their sex, but they also endured a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and an abuse of power at the hands of numerous county officials, including former Col. Vaughn Bond, Meyer and county Chief Administrative Officer Vanessa Phillips.
Bond, who headed the county’s public safety department that oversees the police department, retired last year
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After the claims against Watson came out, county officials said they instituted mandatory sexual harassment training and hired an outside law firm to review the patterns and practices within county government regarding bias in the workplace.
Tuesday’s statement also said the county will institute a phone line to allow employees to anonymously report workplace misconduct.
“The County will also retain an outside monitor as an additional layer of oversight and this individual will independently ensure that complaints from employees are received and addressed appropriately,” according to the county’s joint statement. “Finally, the County will continue its bi-annual harassment-prevention training, designed to help all employees understand the boundaries of appropriate workplace conduct, and what to do when those boundaries are crossed.”
Krys’tal Griffin contributed to this story.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
