Teresa Williams Wiki – Teresa Williams Biography
The first woman to serve in a Michigan City police force says she faced a near-constant onslaught of sexual harassment from shortly after it began until she was forced to resign. Teresa Williams joined the Iron City Police Department (IMPD) in October 2017, the only female officer in the department, according to a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed in February. She was the only female officer in the department and, according to the complaint, her supervisor treated her like a liability from the start.
IMPD Deputy Director Joseph Dumais allegedly “referred to Plaintiff’s hiring as the female first officer as a ‘pending lawsuit,’” the complaint alleges. “However, Dumais was groping and forcing the plaintiff to kiss him within weeks of his employment.” Dumais and Officer Garth Budek, both named as defendants in the case, also allegedly “placed a bet as to which officer would have sexual relations with the plaintiff first after she was hired.”
Teresa Williams Age
Teresa Williams’s age is Unkown.
Incident Detail
Shortly after starting out in the IMPD, Williams, after being invited to a local bar with Budek and Dumais, was allegedly told that she had to take an “IMPD shot” with Dumais as part of her “induction” into the police department. . . “Dumais explained that the IMPD injection involved taking a shot of fireball liquor and then kissing,” the complaint explains.
Williams refused, telling her colleagues that she sounded like something they made up. Dumais responded that it was mandatory and that everyone had to do it as standard protocol,” the complaint says. “To allegedly demonstrate, Dumais took an initial photo together with a former county dispatcher (male) and then kissed him. Ultimately, the claimant caved in to the pressure and took the ‘IMPD take’ with Dumais who, as a result, kissed the claimant and declared that she was now ‘officially part of IMPD.'”
Dumais later pressured Williams to take a second “IMPD take” with him and allegedly “put her hand between plaintiff’s legs and grabbed her genitalia.” “Plaintiff froze in fear,” the complaint continued. “As of this moment, it was clear to the Claimant that she would be subjected to continuous harassment and treatment by all of her male colleagues.
According to the complaint, that is exactly what happened. Williams’ patrol officer, Budek, allegedly forced her several times, the first time when she was driving him home from a night at a local bar. “Budek proceeded to tell Plaintiff “how hot her ‘butt’ looked in her work pants” and compelled Plaintiff,” the lawsuit says. Budek allegedly only stopped trying to kiss Williams after she “stopped resisting.”
At that point, Budek allegedly “apologised and started crying saying that what he did ‘wasn’t right’ and that he ‘didn’t want her to be mad at him.’ At that point, the plaintiff told Budek that he was fine and I needed to get home.” In another incident, the complaint says, Budek told Williams that she was “difficult to work with” because he would get distracted when she looked at her and it was hard for her to contain herself. He then tried to kiss her, but she refused.
Williams’ complaint says there were “countless incidents of Budek” touching her and making sexual comments about her while they were working. Her work environment with Budek became “extremely hostile” after an incident in which she says he pressured her to perform oral sex on him while she was watching a movie with Budek and her wife at her home. . .
“Shortly thereafter, there was an incident during a traffic stop in which Plaintiff and Budek disagreed about whom she became hostile to,” the complaint states. “Budek yelled at the plaintiff and belittled her while she was driving. Budek called Claimant a ‘B–‘ and a ‘c-‘.” The next day, Williams says he was assigned a new partner. This partner would eventually expose the alleged bet between Dumais and Budek.
Williams’ complaint goes on to list a variety of challenges and obstacles she allegedly faced in her years with the IMPD, including not having adequate backup on an emergency call, being criticized for her “radio behavior” and facing continued demeaning language. of Budek at “every chance she got.”
She was also reportedly told to “watch her back with Dumais,” who apparently “never wanted to be hired and planned to use [sic] anything he could against her.” Dumais had allegedly said it was a “court nightmare” to have a female officer in the department, the lawsuit says. Williams resigned in April 2022, writing in a letter that it was “obvious” that she would never be fully accepted into the department.
“Plaintiff was an outcast during her employment,” the complaint states. She “was sexually harassed, belittled, and habitually belittled. When Complainant filed complaints, her abusers found ways to discipline her and threatened her with further disciplinary action for continuing to discuss the matter. When she pressed the issue of sexual harassment, she was ultimately forced to resign or face dismissal.”
Williams alleges civil rights violations, discrimination, a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking payment of lost wages and benefits, as well as an unknown amount of punitive and compensatory damages.
Read Also: Who is Josiah Jackson? Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, kidnapped, Investigation
