Sues brass over harass
Cop: I ripped boss, got bad gigs
An NYPD sergeant is suing the city, claiming that after he belittled his commander’s management style — saying bosses like her were “the reason cops kill themselves” — he was labeled a malcontent, harassed, repeatedly transferred and slapped with petty disciplinary charges.
Sgt. Harold Gates, 47, filed the $9 million discrimination lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court, alleging that as a union delegate, his advocacy for his colleagues in PSA 1 in Coney Island ran afoul of unit commander Deputy Inspector Tania Kinsella.
The lawsuit hinges on a heated 2019 argument between Gates and Kinsella in which she allegedly ordered him to see a NYPD psychiatrist after he made the crack: “Commanders like you are the reason cops kill themselves.”
With the blessing of thenChief of Housing James Secreto, now retired, Kinsella got Gates transferred to a punitive unit, though he finally wound up on a midnight tour in lower Manhattan, the lawsuit alleges.
“The complaint alleges that on the basis of perceived disability, which is in violation of state and city anti-discrimination statutes, my client was unfairly treated and transferred to a punitive assignment,” said Gates’ lawyer Marshall Bellovin.
An NYPD spokeswoman declined to comment on pending litigation.
“It’s just another frivolous lawsuit with someone trying to make a cash grab from the city,” said Chris Monahan, president of Kinsella’s union, the Captains Endowment Association.
Gates, a 13-year veteran and himself a lawyer who’d previously worked three years for the City Council, was promoted to sergeant in 2014. His background got him into the NYPD’s Legal Bureau, where he assisted in shutting down troubled nightspots.
He’s made 120 arrests as a police officer, supervised thousands as a sergeant, and was recently decorated for catching a graffiti artist red-handed last
Christmas Eve, the suit claims. But when he landed at PSA 1, and was chosen the sergeants union delegate in 2018, he began to butt heads with Kinsella.
The lawsuit alleges Kinsella unfairly disciplined Gates after he advocated for other sergeants. Sources said the cases included one in which Kinsella allegedly accused a sergeant of being late to a 911 call, and another involving overtime.
In August, Kinsella wrote up Gates for not having his gun in his holster, the suit claims; he countered that he’d put his weapon in a locker, as required when checking on prisoners. The following day, Kinsella slapped Gates with a bad evaluation. The lawsuit asserts that during Gates’ over 12-year career, he’d received excellent evaluations.
On Aug. 16, Gates met with Kinsella and made the disparaging remark about her management — a cut that came as the NYPD was in crisis over the suicides of 10 current and retired cops. Kinsella wrote a memo to Secreto claiming Gates was “suicidal,” and ordered his guns and shield confiscated, the lawsuit alleged.
Secreto signed off on what came next, records show. When contacted by the Daily News in 2019, Secreto said, “This is not the Daily News. A sergeant cannot go off on the deputy inspector without repercussions.”
Kinsella sent Gates to a NYPD psychiatrist, who promptly found the sergeant fit for duty and ordered his guns and shield returned, the suit claimed. But Kinsella then got Gates transferred to a VIPER unit in Queens, where cops watch NYCHA security video all tour.
“It is well known throughout the NYPD that a transfer to VIPER is considered a severe punishment as promotional and overtime opportunities are extremely limited,” the lawsuit said.
On Aug. 29, Gates was transferred again — to PSA 4 in lower Manhattan, where he was put on the midnight tour. Gates asked to be moved off of midnights because he needed time to care for his father who has Parkinson’s disease. The request was denied, the suit said.
Just days later, on Sept. 8, PSA 4 Lt. David DeJesus allegedly told Gates he had a “checkered past” and hit him with minor infractions — one of which claimed he didn’t put his name in a patrol log, the suit says. That same month, Gates filed a grievance and asked for a transfer, but his PSA 4 commander, Capt. Dennis Gray, labeled him “not recommended,” the lawsuit said. Gates remains in PSA 4. According to the lawsuit, Gates’ transfer to VIPER cost him thousands of dollars in overtime, and being assigned to midnights forced him to take unpaid family medical leave to care for his dad.