NYC police watchdog cited for improper remarks
New York’s newly named top investigator of police misconduct was himself the subject of workplace complaints, accused among other things of making an inappropriate joke about a colleague’s backside and referring to an area where Hispanic employees sit as “el Barrio,” according to a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press.
Jonathan Darche, appointed last week as executive director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, was accused of making the remarks in 2013 while deputy supervisor of a prosecution unit at the agency. The nine-page report substantiated some of the complaints and he ultimately forfeited four vacation days and received management training.
Among the substantiated complaints: Darche, who is white, referred to cubicles where Hispanic employees sat as “el Barrio,” Spanish for neighbourhood and an apparent reference to a Manhattan neighbourhood with a large Latino population.
During an elevator ride months later, according to the report, Darche either touched or attempted to touch a male employee’s buttocks, then asked a woman standing next to him, “Why did you grab his ass?,” the memo said.