A former NYPD employee says her boss, who bragged about being related to Mayor Adams, sexually harassed her by sitting at his desk in an apparent arousal, and then retaliated after she reported his disrespectful behavior. He claims he ran a campaign and fired her.
Former Bronx City Council candidate Latina Brown’s problems began shortly after she accepted a $70,000-a-year citywide community coordinator job with the NYPD in June 2022, a federal lawsuit alleges.
A few days after taking office, Brown, 39, and his boss, NYPD Community Coordinator Bryan Adams, 52, drove to a meeting in Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s office in an unmarked department vehicle. He claims he was moving.
As Brown got out of her car, a woman she didn’t know told her, “You’re very beautiful and I really like your dress,” according to court documents. In response, Ms Adams is said to have told her: “That woman wasn’t trying to compliment you, she wanted to sleep with you.” Women are checking you out because you look good. ”
After the meeting, they returned to their car, where Adams asked her if she was married and if she was “excited.”
The lawsuit against Adams and the city alleges that Brown “immediately feared for her safety and experienced traumatic flashbacks of a past sexual assault.”
According to the complaint, Brown alleges that on June 21, 2022, Adams was sitting at his desk with his legs spread and “his erect penis visible through his pants.” Adams noticed a nearby police officer looking at him and suddenly left.
The officer saw Brown upset and took her outside to get some air, according to the complaint. Ms. Brown told her police officer about her alleged harassment. Her police officer urged her to file her complaint, which she later did.
According to the complaint, Adams gloated and said, “I’m related to Mayor Eric Adams.”
The mayor’s office did not comment on whether the two men were related, but a review of documents did not reveal any family ties.
Bryan Adams declined to comment, but a law enforcement source said Adams denies the allegations and that Brown complained “after learning he was going to be fired.”
As a City Council employee, Brown previously reported a supervisor in then-City Council President Corey Johnson’s office for making disparaging comments about minorities.
Brown, who ran as an independent candidate for the Bronx City Council in 2021, reported the alleged harassment by Adams to Police Chief Edward Caban, whom she met through community work. The complaint alleges that Caban did nothing to report the behavior, even though Brown called him several times about the incident.
Arianna Dillon, another employee named in the lawsuit, allegedly told Brown that Adams had done the same thing to her. Dillon no longer works for the department, and she declined to comment when reached by phone.
Adding insult to injury, Ms. Adams accused Mr. Brown of being a thief, she claimed in legal filings.
Using her corporate American Express card, she planned a “community day” event at the 52nd Precinct in the Bronx in July 2021. But Adams reported her to law enforcement. The charges were later dropped, the lawsuit alleges.
Brown, a single mother, filed a formal complaint of harassment, discrimination and retaliation on July 22, 2021, and was transferred from the department. She was officially fired in November 2022. She is seeking unspecified damages.
