WINDHAM – A decision is expected early next week in the sexual harassment claim by Officer Danielle Cyr, who has been on leave from the Windham Police Department for more than two years.

Cyr’s case alleges sexual harassment by a junior officer, lack of action by supervisors to address her claims and retaliation by members of the department. It has been under investigation by the Maine Human Rights Commission, whose board will issue a decision Monday, March 5.

An investigator from the commission has sided with Cyr on the claim of sexual discrimination, though not on her allegations of retaliation. A report by the investigator also painted a picture of a department unable or unwilling to deal with workplace complaints.

According to Amy Snierson, the commission’s executive director, Cyr’s case is one of several dozen that will be decided at the monthly meeting of the five-member board of commissioners. The commission can either dismiss the case or rule in Cyr’s favor, which would allow Cyr to sue the town of Windham in court with the backing of the commission. The commission would remain active if it went to court, and would represent the public good, Snierson said.

The town of Windham, represented in the case by Patricia Dunn, of Jensen Baird Gardner and Henry, denies any harassment or retaliation and alleges Cyr’s complaints were promptly investigated and appropriate action was taken.

The commission relies on its four full-time investigators to thoroughly research both sides and present those in a report, Snierson said. The investigator also makes a recommendation in the case. In Cyr’s case, the investigator, Angela Tizon, determined Cyr has reasonable grounds “to believe that the town of Windham discriminated against [Cyr] by subjecting her to a hostile work environment based on sex.”

However, Tizon found against Cyr regarding her allegations of retaliation. Tizon found that Cyr “has not shown that, in the wake of her complaints, her pay was decreased, she was given poor performance reviews, or that she has been excluded from or denied opportunities for promotion or advancement in the wake of her complaints.”

While commissioners have the final say, more often than not the commission will rule in accordance to the investigators’ recommendations, Snierson said.

Windham Town Manager Tony Plante and Police Chief Rick Lewsen were unwilling to comment on the case.

“It remains a confidential personnel issue and since it’s a personnel issue we can’t comment,” said Lewsen, who has led the department for more than 30 years.

Lewsen, however, clarified that Cyr is not on paid administrative leave. He would not disclose her exact status with the department saying merely that she is on leave.

According to the commission’s investigative report, written by Tizon, Cyr was hired in 2006. The harassment, she said, took place in early 2009 by a junior officer, who is unnamed in the report. The officer, Cyr said, demeaned her authority, touched her inappropriately, exposed his genitalia and urinated in front of her.

After complaining to her supervising sergeant in March 2009, the department warned the officer to cease the harassment. However, the harassment continued, Cyr said, prompting further complaints by Cyr. According to the report, Cyr’s supervisor said the misbehavior had to be caught on camera or tape-recorded to prove the acts were taking place.

The acts escalated in severity, Cyr claims. In June 2009, Cyr and the other officer responded to a call where the officer swore at Cyr and openly challenged her authority in front of civilians.

After more incidents of harassment, Cyr took sick days in June and July 2009 to avoid working with the officer. When she did go to work, the officer gave her “the silent treatment,” the report says, and told her she could not handle the job.

In August, the commission’s investigative report indicates, Cyr took part in a mediation session with the officer and two sergeants. One of the sergeants suggested the two participate in team-building exercises. Cyr agreed, but later called the sergeant to say she would feel uncomfortable in such a meeting. The sergeant said she should participate or it would reflect badly on her evaluation that she was not a team player, the report says.

In September 2009, the officer did not properly back Cyr up on a call and called her inappropriate names over the radio, which prompted a dispatcher to report the verbal abuse to a sergeant, and that incident sparked an internal investigation, the report says. On Oct. 14, 2009, the officer was terminated and the department apologized to Cyr, reimbursing her for 50 hours of sick time and vacation leave she used to avoid working with the officer.

After the officer was fired, Cyr alleges sexual banter took place at the department, the commission report says.

“Far worse, from the complainant’s perspective, was that all of her fellow officers treated her differently and started to question her decisions at work,” the report states. “They gave her the silent treatment, at work and in the community.”

Cyr also felt a sergeant retaliated “against her for her complaint because he assumed she would sue the town of Windham and constantly peppered her with questions about her complaints and intent to sue the town,” the report says.

The harassment and coldness caused Cyr to suffer emotionally, leading her mental health providers to give her a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the work environment, the report says. Cyr left work Jan. 5, 2010, on administrative leave.

Cyr filed a charge of discrimination with the Maine Human Rights Commission in March 2010, and amended it in September 2010 to allege retaliation for the filing. Since January 2010, Cyr “remains out of work on leave.” She is represented in the matter by attorney Rebecca Webber.

According to the commission investigator’s report, the town of Windham has responded to Cyr’s claims by saying it dealt promptly with her harassment charges by conducting an investigation. That investigation found that the discrimination was unacceptable and unlikely to change and resulted in the termination of the officer.

The town also claims, through the commission investigation, that Cyr was not retaliated against, saying, “She was treated the same before and after her complaints of sexual harassment.”

In an executive summary of the Cyr case, also made available to commissioners, the report went on to chastise the department for failing Cyr. The report also discloses practices in the department that allow sexual harassment to occur and not be reported.

“The relevant question is what the Windham Police Department supervisors knew or should have known and did they take appropriate action. The findings of this review suggest that the corrective action taken by the Department was too slow and inadequate,” the summary said.

The report also concludes the department had no appropriate sexual harassment claim procedure in place and an outdated sexual harassment policy, despite being instructed to have one in previous training.

“A hostile sexual harassment environment existed,” the summary said. “Most people who were interviewed stated that foul language, conversations, which included sexual connotations and innuendo … were the norm for the entire department. This activity, while not pervasive, was commonplace and engaged in by both male and females … This activity went on in front of supervision without correction. Supervision, at times, engaged in the same conduct.”

According to the report, one supervisor said the behavior was not unusual “and did not trigger a thought to document or address the issue with upper management.”

The summary concludes by saying the department should revise its sexual harassment policy so it “provides readily accessible grievance procedures to the victim and quickly stops the harassment.”

Among other suggestions for corrective measures, the report suggests an equal employment opportunity liaison should be trained and that each employee should sign the policy each year.