SCOTCH PLAINS – A township police officer is suing the municipality and a captain in the police department over a rumor she was engaged in a sexual relationship with another police officer.
Krysti Janusz, who has been an officer in Scotch Plains since Feb. 1, 2021, alleges in the lawsuit filed in Union County Superior Court that Capt. David Lavery, then a lieutenant, was spreading the rumor about six months after she joined the police department.
In the lawsuit, Janusz said she and the other officer have never been involved in an intimate relationship and there is no rule prohibiting consenting officers of the same rank from dating.
“Spreading a rumor that a female officer is intimate with a male co-worker inherently equates to sexual harassment based upon gender bias and unequal perception of women in the workplace,” the lawsuit argues.
But Lavery, according to the lawsuit, “appeared to become preoccupied” with Janusz’s relationship with the other officer and told other officers he wanted to be aware with any contact the two had on duty.
Januz also charged in the lawsuit that Lavery ordered a sergeant to reprimand her because she had asked the other officer a question about traffic.
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The rumors, the lawsuit charges, became so prevalent that from June 2022 to November 2023, Janusz and her live-in boyfriend argued repeatedly about the rumors, leading to the end of their relationship.
In the summer of 2022, according to the lawsuit, Lavery “continued to pay special, unwanted attention” to Janusz and was “trying to insert himself” into her life.
One time, the lawsuit alleges, he called her into his office and said she was there “because she does not say “hi to him anymore.”
On other occasions, according to the lawsuit, Lavery began sending her text messages on her private phone from his personal phone.
One of those messages was a screenshot of her in uniform with Girl Scout cookies with the words, “Lookin Good.” The message was sent on a Saturday evening when she was on duty but he wasn’t, the lawsuit says.
The “unwanted attention” and the rumor about an intimate relationship with another officer “created a hostile work environment,” the lawsuit says, “which causes it to be difficult for her to come to work.”
Janusz complained to sergeants about the harassment, but no action was taken, according to the lawsuit.
Janusz first filed the lawsuit on April 15, but Superior Court Judge Lisa Walsh dismissed it on Aug. 5 but gave Janusz 20 days to file an amended complaint which she did on Aug. 12.
Scotch Plains, in lieu of filing a formal answer, asked the judge to dismiss to the suit because it violated the statute of limitations.
But the judge gave her time to file an amended complaint with more information and dates when the alleged harassment occurred.
Before working in Scotch Plains, Janusz was a police officer in Hillside for four years. In Scotch Plains, she is part of the ARRIVE Program, in which she accompanies social workers to incident scenes to asset in the evaluation of the mental status of individuals who come in contact with law enforcement.
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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Scotch Plains NJ cop sues over rumor she was dating another officer
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