HULL, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A 25-year veteran of the Hull Police Department has filed a lawsuit against the town and the department's three top officers, claiming he was continually harassed by his superiors and discriminated against because he's gay.
Sergeant Donald Love claims Chief Richard Billings, Captain Robert Sawtelle and Lieutenant Dale Shea commonly referred to him using crude, derogatory terms about his sexual orientation at shift role call and over police radio broadcasts going back to 1998.
The town manager told FOX 25 that they take these accusations very seriously, but until the case plays out in court, all three defendants, as well as Love will remain on the police force.
Phil Lemnios, Hull Town Manager said, "The town, historically, whenever it has had to take personnel action relative to employees and any actions that they might have done that were inappropriate we have a very strong track record of doing that and we do that as expeditiously as possible while making sure we preserve the rights of the employees, the rights of the person making the claim and most importantly the public's interest."
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages against the three defendants.