A former Department of Public Safety officer, Wanda Wright, has accused a sergeant of sexual harassment and has alleged that other DPS officials made offensive remarks and acted unprofessionally during her six-month employment with DPS.

Director of Public Safety William Tucker called the issue an “internal personnel matter” that DPS administrators are examining.

“We have the allegations and we have conducted an investigation according to university policies and orders,” he said.

Wright cited personal matters and what she called a “lack of safety provided by the department” as her reasons for resigning on Jan. 11.

Wright verbally complained to a superior on Nov. 11 of being sexually harassed. Her allegations of unprofessional behavior were submitted in a letter to DPS Associate Director Darryl Harrison the same day.

In a Nov. 11 memorandum to Harrison, Wright said that the sergeant yelled at her in front of students while she was on duty. After submitting her letter of complaint, Wright said that she was “punished” by the sergeant by being reassigned from crime patrol to a Copley Prayer Room shift composed entirely of females. Wright expressed her concern that the reassignment displayed favoritism to male officers.

In a Nov. 18 memorandum to Harrison, Wright cited further instances of “offensive language” and inappropriate behavior, including references made to the complaint she filed against the sergeant.

During the investigation, the case was assigned to DPS’ Training and Accreditation Manager Portia Swinson. After reviewing the case, Swinson recommended that Wright meet with Human Resources Counselor Patricia Anderson.

“I took advantage of the [counseling],” Wright said. “I needed to talk to someone about what I was experiencing at the time,” she said.

After Wright felt that little progress was being made in the investigation, she submitted a letter detailing her accusations to Vice President for Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s Executive Assistant Raymond Acevedo said that Gonzalez was unable to comment due to the confidential nature of the situation.

“Male officers are given choice assignments and are not assigned to the prayer room like female officers are,” the letter said. “Although this department is predominantly African American . there still remain some disturbing issues . [that] include prejudice and discrimination amongst African Americans,” the letter said.

Gonzalez immediately forwarded the letter to Affirmative Action Director Rosemary Kilkenny. Kilkenny said that she could not comment on the matter because of confidentiality granted under the Affirmative Action office’s “grievance procedure.”

She has been assigned to assist DPS in their ongoing investigation and to monitor their assessments.

Wright said that during this investigation she continued to be harassed. “It was obvious I needed to get away,” she said. After being denied leave twice by William Tucker, Wright said she turned to Kilkenny for help. Wright was eventually granted a six-day leave after Kilkenny investigated the matter.

Upon returning to work Wright said that she was transferred to another shift and received a letter of counseling. After her overtime was given to another officer Wright decided to resign, saying in a letter to The Hoya that she felt “punished for making the complaint, contacting Dr. Gonzalez [and] revealing my sexual orientation (lesbian) during the investigation conducted by DPS.”