Sexual harassment question

[natejpg]

Please help me out. I'm going to pose the question and then see what type of responses I get before I say how I think it should be answered. Here goes nothing:

You are a officer at the station. You see a female officer being blocked from getting into a room by a Sergeant. You feel that it is sexual harassment. What do you do?

If you have the correct answer (as in your a interviewer or BI and know) please PM me instead of giving it away from the get go.

[McGruff]

Third party whistle blower? That's interesting in this situation.

[DH21187]

Hmmm.... is she cute or a "large Marge" type?

[IMachU]

Regardless of the stature of the officer, it's her call. Complaints can be 3rd party. But without more info, I'd say it's her call to make. But if she makes a complaint, be sure to fill her in on what you obs'd so you can me a witness in the investigation.

[L-1]

Please help me out. I'm going to pose the question and then see what type of responses I get before I say how I think it should be answered. Here goes nothing:

You are a officer at the station. You see a female officer being blocked from getting into a room by a Sergeant. You feel that it is sexual harassment. What do you do?

If you have the correct answer (as in your a interviewer or BI and know) please PM me instead of giving it away from the get go.

There could be many reasons (both innocent and otherwise) as to why someone's access to a room might be blocked. You need to first articulate why you think this was sexual harassment before you get a realistic answer.
How was access being blocked? What did the sergeant say or do. What was the gender of the sergeant - male or female? What did the officer say in response? How long did it last? Why should we jump to your conclusion without all the facts?

[avalon42]

My answer:

I would ask the female officer if there was a problem before jumping to conclusions. If she verified my assumption, I would still make an effort to follow-up to see if the Sgt. had a history of past misconduct (or if it was openly apparent). Almost every company I have worked for was required by law and their business insurance to investigate any and all claims of harassment/misconduct.

The goal in mind is to prevent a "hostile" work environment.

BTW: Forgot to add, it is the responsibility of the Human Resources Department to investigate the allegations. Situations can be reported anonymously.

[shadowhaus]

You are a officer at the station. You see a female officer being blocked from getting into a room by a Sergeant. You feel that it is sexual harassment. What do you do?

How in the hell is that "sexual" harassment???? And even scarier.......people would actually consider it to be sexual harassment.

Is the Sgt standing in the doorway with their arms crossed while leaning against the door jam denning entry or was their hands out in a grasping motion saying "Honk, Honk"?

[417Lt]

A good thing to know at an interview would be to know the title of the person who would be responsible for receiving SH complaints and work that tidbit into your answer. For example: in Ca. State LEA's it's usually the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) coordinator.

[natejpg]

There could be many reasons (both innocent and otherwise) as to why someone's access to a room might be blocked. You need to first articulate why you think this was sexual harassment before you get a realistic answer.
How was access being blocked? What did the sergeant say or do. What was the gender of the sergeant - male or female? What did the officer say in response? How long did it last? Why should we jump to your conclusion without all the facts?

1- The articulation of you thinking it is sexual harassment is the interviewer telling you that you feel it is sexual harassment but then gives you no supporting evidence or even reasonable suspicion to verify that fact.
2- The access was being blocked by the male Sgt. standing in the doorway.
3- The reason you should answer this question is because we are playing a scenario out as a civilian in a job interview for police officer trainee and the facts given between both post on this subject is all the facts that i have. Sorry I couldn't give you more.

Sorry I'm not trying to sound upset I'm just frustrated trying to figure out how to answer correctly this question that seems like a trick that just wouldn't turn out good anyway I look at it.

[natejpg]

How in the hell is that "sexual" harassment???? And even scarier.......people would actually consider it to be sexual harassment.

Is the Sgt standing in the doorway with their arms crossed while leaning against the door jam denning entry or was their hands out in a grasping motion saying "Honk, Honk"?

I personally agree with you on your statement. The sad thing is even if he wasn't grasping and saying honk honk this character would probably still get a few days off without pay and the dreaded sensitivity training.

[natejpg]

I answered: "I would approach the Sgt. and ask why the room was closed for entry or if it was." The Sgt. says to mind your own business. I then reply "I would mind my own business because i would take that as an official order from my superior" The Sgt. replies with mind your own business when confronted is what it seems like so take that as your answer when he replies to your asking about the room.

[Berlioz]

....jus tell them that you would let another supervisor know of your observations in an annonymous manner...most policies will probably state that if you obs something questionable in temrs of ethics or sexual harassment, you shall (some good LAPD terminology right there, btw) report it. Thats what they want to hear, uncomplicate it.

[LA DEP]

....jus tell them that you would let another supervisor know of your observations in an annonymous manner...most policies will probably state that if you obs something questionable in temrs of ethics or sexual harassment, you shall (some good LAPD terminology right there, btw) report it. Thats what they want to hear, uncomplicate it.

Thats how our policy reads......

and 'third party' complaints get made all day.....sometimes even without the knowledge or consent of the person who the harrassment was directed towards.....

[shadowhaus]

I could see how the Sgt. may be creating a "hostile work environment" if it was an ongoing thing but I don't see how anyone could possibly make this a sexual harassment claim with just that information.

[L-1]

1- The articulation of you thinking it is sexual harassment is the interviewer telling you that you feel it is sexual harassment but then gives you no supporting evidence or even reasonable suspicion to verify that fact.
2- The access was being blocked by the male Sgt. standing in the doorway.
3- The reason you should answer this question is because we are playing a scenario out as a civilian in a job interview for police officer trainee and the facts given between both post on this subject is all the facts that i have. Sorry I couldn't give you more.

Sorry I'm not trying to sound upset I'm just frustrated trying to figure out how to answer correctly this question that seems like a trick that just wouldn't turn out good anyway I look at it.

I also see it as a trick question. They are trying to see if you will buy into their assumption of sexual harassment without further investigation. This could be sexual harassment, but in a male/female situation, it could also be a husband playing around with his wife, or a boyfriend joking around with his girlfriend. It could also be a sergeant doing his job by keeping a subordinate from walking into a room where the subordinate's spouse is in custody and being interrogated. You just don't know what you have here and can't give an intelligent answer without additional information.

Nonetheless, let's go with the situation they presented you. I would contact the officer later and discreetly ask them what went on.

1. If they say it was a mutual thing between them and the sergeant (they were just playing around) I would not worry about.

2. If they say it was not mutual and what occurred meets the criteria for sexual harassment, but they say they were not offended and do not wish to report it, then you have to decide if you were offended (you too, can be the victim of a hostile work environment in this situation). If you were offended, report it to your Lieutenant or EEO Coordinator.

3. If they say it was not mutual, what occurred meets the criteria for sexual harassment, and they were offended, then I would report it to my Lieutenant or EEO Coordinator.

Sexual harassment is serious problem that can result in major penalties for those who engage in it, for supervisors who are aware of it and fail to take appropriate action to correct the matter and for the employing agency. However, care must also be taken to differentiate between harassment and mutually agreeable interaction between friends. There is a female officer that I have been close friends with for over 25 years and while on duty, we often took meal breaks together a couple of times a week. (After retirement we are still close friends.) She was always below me in rank but worked under a different chain of command. As part of our interaction we flirted outrageously with each other, our conversations tended to be rather risqué and sometimes our language would make a sailor blush. One afternoon our Assistant Chief happened to overhear one of our conversations. The smart thing would have been for him to walk over, ask if he could speak with her privately and check to see if everything was alright, or if she felt uncomfortable with the conversation we were having. Instead, he walked into my office and launched into a sexual harassment speech. In about three seconds she told him we were having a private conversation between mutually consenting adults that was none of his business and that he needed to butt out right now. He walked away rather embarrassed, because he acted first without gathering his facts. It's the same thing with the question they asked you in your oral. You need to know what you are dealing with first, before you act.