Teresa Williams landed her dream job in Iron Mountain, Michigan, where she thought she was the first female cop in the history of a small-town police department.
But according to a federal lawsuit she filed last month against three Iron Mountain officers, she was relentlessly harassed and assaulted for four and a half years before she eventually resigned.
Within weeks of being hired in October 2017, he was forced to make out with his direct manager at a bar, according to the complaint. Her supervisor, Williams’ former patrol partner, was also betting on who could have sex with her first, her lawsuit states.
“I would love to see someone step in and take action. Like, hold these people accountable.” It doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want, break the law, or do whatever you want.”
Williams, 35, also spoke about Iron Mountain, a close-knit community of about 7,500 residents on the Upper Peninsula that borders Wisconsin.
“I want the Iron Mountain community in particular to know that I am doing this because they have a right to know…they have a responsibility to protect and serve them. It’s because we have a right to know who has what,” she said.
“It’s just terrifying that these individual officers can act with such impunity.”
The lawsuit alleges sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, a hostile work environment, and retaliation. Named as defendants are two of the agency’s top supervisors, his Ed Mattson, chief of police and fire, and his Joseph Dumais, deputy chief of police services. Garth Budek, Williams’ former patrol partner, is the third officer named as the defendant. Also named as defendants are the city and the police.
Gregory Grant, an attorney representing all defendants, said in a statement Thursday: He has two sides to every story and clients look forward to presenting the facts in court. That said, the City of Iron Mountain has always been committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment for all employees. “
The Police Labor Council, the union representing Iron Mountain police officers, was not available for comment on Thursday.
Williams’ attorney, Jack Schultz, believes Iron Mountain’s police force is insulated from a system of checks and balances to retain strong officers available to the larger community.
“This was her dream job in her hometown,” he said. “Many agencies and things set up to regulate and monitor these things overlook Michigan’s rural areas and tend to focus on the larger municipalities.
He added: She’s proud to represent her, but sad that she has nowhere to turn. “
Schulz and Williams said none of the three accused police officers had been disciplined or under criminal investigation.
A representative for the Dickinson County Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Thursday.
Entrance ceremony including fireball shot and making
Just weeks after Williams was hired, she was invited to a bar, the lawsuit states. She was excited about the opportunity to bond with her new colleagues.
However, according to the lawsuit, Dumas pressured her into giving her a fireball shot at a bar and made out with him as part of an initiation ceremony.
“Plaintiffs denied this and said the whole thing was a hoax. Dumet replied that it was necessary and that everyone should do it as standard protocol. Dumet took the first shot with a former county dispatcher (male), kissed him, and eventually the plaintiff gave in to the pressure and took an “IMPD shot” with Dumet. As a result, Dumet kissed the plaintiff and said she was “officially part of the IMPD.”
Later, at a bar, Dumet asked for another shot with Williams, according to the lawsuit.
“Dumet pressured the plaintiff to give her a second injection of IMPD, but this time, Dumet put his hand between the plaintiff’s legs and grabbed her genitals.”
In another instance, Williams took Budek home after spending the night in a bar, where he forced her to touch her genitals over his pants. The lawsuit states that he kissed against
Moments later, Williams watched a movie at the mansion with Budek and his wife. made excuses. That’s when Budek grabbed Williams’ hand and led her downstairs, pressuring her to perform oral sex.
“I’m tired of hearing her pathetic stories.”
Williams said someone was going to fire her in early 2020, according to the complaint, and Dumet said she had told people outside the department she couldn’t be “any longer.”
By October of that year, the lawsuit said Williams had been asked to meet with Dumet in his office with the door closed. He said he didn’t want to, and asked if someone else could join him, but Dumas said no. Before she asked her to leave, Dumet exclaimed, “I’m sick and tired of hearing her pathetic story.”
During Williams’ tenure, Boudek was promoted to sergeant and Dumet to deputy chief of the police service.
Williams was subsequently accused of unprofessional activity, including not responding to radio calls about a hit-and-run, and was suspended multiple times.
In March 2022, Williams met with Mattson and Dumas to discuss multiple topics. That included things like her officers talking about her outside her department and her ongoing harassment against her. According to the complaint, the atmosphere at the meeting was not friendly to Williams but sympathetic to Budek.
“Mattson said Budek was ’emotionally distressed’ and ‘wanted to be honest with his wife,'” the lawsuit said. Mattson continued that he was discussing the matter with Budek in order to help her. (rather than addressing sexual harassment or assault).
She was soon told she would be fired if she didn’t resign, according to the lawsuit. She left in April.
“My job meant everything to me”
Williams said Thursday that she is speaking out so that women and other victims of sexual assault and harassment can speak up.
From her childhood, she remembers breaking down walls as the second girl to play soccer in her high school in Wisconsin. In her sophomore year, she said, she played on the junior varsity team defensively on her end and offensively on her line.
Williams said it was in that spirit that she became a police officer in the all-male division.
She remembered the fun times she had in her school uniform.
She proudly talked about how she pulled an elderly woman out of an overturned car after a crash.
“I was the only one small enough to crawl through that back window. I took off my vest and work belt and crawled in there,” she said.
Her voice cracked when she said she might never serve as an officer again.
“I want to go back and be a police officer. I really will. My job meant everything to me,” Williams said, holding back tears. No one hired me.”
fix (March 23, 2023 at 10:47 PM ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the lawyer’s last name. He’s Jack Schultz, not Schultz.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
