Ex-TSU chief accused of sexual harassment

For years, Roberta Gibson dreaded working with her boss, the Texas Southern University police chief.

Unwanted touches and hugs were common, she said. He also made comments about her legs and body.

Remon Green resigned this week after a university investigation of Gibson’s allegations found an “offensive, hostile and uncomfortable work environment” created by the police chief’s “unwanted and unwelcomed” hugs and touches, and his suggestive comments about female employees’ attire, according to a summary of the investigation’s findings obtained by the Houston Chronicle. An attorney representing Green called the accusations false and “malicious.”

Despite police chief’s resignation, Gibson said the investigation Texas Southern conducted of her sexual harassment claims proceeded too slowly and didn’t give her accusations enough weight.

TSU found Green responsible for her allegations that could be corroborated by a third party, but his viewpoint was given more credence regarding her accusations of harassment that occurred in private, said Casey Jordan, Gibson’s attorney. Many universities, including TSU, use a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, meaning the accused is found responsible if an allegation such as Gibson’s is more likely than not to have occurred, Jordan said.

During its probe of Green’s conduct, TSU also learned that its police chief had contacted at least one member of the police force, claiming that Gibson was trying to ruin his family and career. That contact violated a directive from TSU President Austin Lane, Green’s manager who told him not to discuss the case with anyone while the university investigated Gibson’s claims. The university’s Title IX coordinator Keisha David recommended on Feb. 15 that Green either be terminated from his job or removed from a leadership position and suspended without pay.

Pay raise denied

Lane declined comment on Thursday regarding Green, saying personnel matters are confidential. The university confirmed its police chief resigned on Wednesday, but officials declined further comment.

Green had worked at TSU in Houston for about 15 years as sergeant, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief, before assuming the chief position last year. He declined comment regarding his resignation when reached by the Chronicle on Wednesday.

Gibson, TSU’s department of public safety project coordinator, said Green’s harassment began when she started working for the police department in 2008. She feared retaliation and so did not report it until October 2016, she said.

Unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate touching, she said, escalated when Green was promoted to chief in February 2016.

“He got very cocky; he got very arrogant; he got even more entitled,” she said in an interview this week with the Chronicle.

Last spring, she said Green showed her a picture of his penis on his cellphone and asked her to show him nude photos of her. Although TSU investigated this allegation, the university’s report said only that Gibson told a colleague about this accusation.

Green denied making sexually overt comments or gestures toward Gibson or other employees, according to the college’s report of its investigation. His hugs, he told investigators, were meant to promote a “family atmosphere” in his department and he said he thought Gibson filed a complaint against him because she did not receive a pay raise in 2016.

‘Enough is enough’

However, Gibson said the tipping point prompting her to report Green to TSU came when she saw the infamous video of then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump describing grabbing and kissing women while using crude, explicit language. After the national media reported about the Trump video, women on social media began sharing their stories of harassment and sexual assault — and explained why they didn’t report the crimes.

“I just decided that I’m not going to be that woman. I have to say something, enough is enough,” she said. Gibson also filed a complaint Feb. 20 with the Texas Workforce Commission alleging gender-based workplace discrimination. The agency has not yet responded to Gibson or her attorney.

Green, who had been on administrative leave before resigning, retained Houston attorney Vic Bonner after tendering his resignation.

“We’re through with it. He resigned,” Bonner said Thursday. Green’s resignation “doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guilty of anything,” Bonner said.