Guyana-born NY police captain wins payout

A Guyana-born woman, who became the first New York Police Department (NYPD) female Captain from this country, has settled for a US$800,000 payout from the department over claims that a top department commander buried her discrimination complaint before he was caught posting racist messages on an internet bulletin board.

According to a New York Daily News report, Captain Sharon Balli had claimed in her 2021 lawsuit that Deputy Inspector James Kobel, then the No. 2 in the NYPD’s Equal Employment Opportunity office, promised to investigate her allegations that she experienced frat-house sexism in the Manhattan South Narcotics unit, and suffered retaliation when she complained.

“I just wanted to let you know that my investigators brought me up to speed on your complaint,” Kobel wrote, according to Balli’s complaint. “We will certainly be in touch with you to conduct an interview and to gather additional information.”