The City of Boston has coughed up $2.4 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit lobbed by a female police commander, Beth Donovan, as confirmed by her attorney. In a gritty battle for equality within the ranks of Boston's law enforcement, Donovan, the pioneering woman to ascend as deputy superintendent of the Boston Police Department's Bureau of Field Services, alleged a systematic pattern of gender-based discrimination and vindictive retaliation that led to a demotion and forced leave.
Once a decorated 27-year veteran on the force, Donovan's plunge from deputy superintendent to the rank of sergeant occurred posthaste to a complaint she filed in 2018 — a move her lawyer Nick Carter views as retaliatory. Speaking to The Boston Herald, Carter laid it out, "Beth Donovan took on the Boston Police Department simply to demand fair treatment as a woman leader there. She is pleased with the result and hopes this helps women who remain at the BPD and those who come after."
The claim revolves around a turbulent episode stemming from a neighborhood graduation party in 2017, where Donovan purportedly became the target of a fellow officer's unrest — an incident that reportedly escalated to Donovan being slandered with profanities and pelted at with a beer can, sparking an internal affairs investigation. According to Donovan, this set off a series of retributive actions against her, including the circulation of rumors insinuating she had a drinking problem, as detailed in court records cited by NBC Boston.
The lawsuit also named Frank Mancini, head of internal affairs, and former Police Commissioner William Evans as conspirators in a concerted effort "to ruin Donovan’s career and to sideline her professionally." Despite the city's rigid stance denying all allegations in a pre-trial memo last December, a mere four days before the case was to be presented in US District Court, the settlement was reached, imposing upon Donovan a condition to hang up her badge for good.
While the city refrains from commenting on the pending finalization of settlement documents, the gravity of the situation resonates beyond the bounds of Boston.
