Crime & Safety

Brookline Promotes Police Officers Accused Of Harassment

Officer Amy Hall named Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mealy and Sgt. Cheryl Molloy in her July lawsuit.

Two Brookline police officers who were accused of discrimination and retaliation by another officer have been promoted.
Two Brookline police officers who were accused of discrimination and retaliation by another officer have been promoted. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

BROOKLINE, MA — Two Brookline police officers who were accused of discrimination and retaliation by another officer were recently promoted by the town.

Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mealy and Sgt. Cheryl Molloy were both involved in Officer Amy Hall’s lawsuit, which was filed in July. Mealy was named in the lawsuit and Hall has now publicly identified Molloy as the officer accused of initially harassing her.

According to the town, Molloy was selected out of three candidates for promotion based on her Civil Service promotional exam scores and performance in interviews. Mealy was selected for promotion from among seven candidates who submitted letters of interest and resumes.

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Patch asked Acting Chief Richard Allen for comment and will update this article when we hear back. Select Board Chair Heather Hamilton said the town will not comment, but Town Administrator Mel Kleckner released the following statement:

"The Town of Brookline is aware of these allegations and in 2020-2021, the Human Resources Department and an independent third party investigator conducted a thorough and independent review of the facts and circumstances surrounding those allegations,” Kleckner said. "The findings of that review were considered during the promotion process, to the maximum extent allowed by Civil Service law. As part of the promotion process, the Town -- with the assistance of a different independent third-party -- conducted a holistic evaluation of the officers’ backgrounds, credentials, and skill sets as required by state law."

Find out what's happening in Brooklinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hall wrote several letters to the Brookline Select Board expressing her concerns about promotions for Mealy and Molloy.

“Firstly, Lieutenant Mealy was my Commanding Officer when I reported to the department, town, and Massachusetts Coalition Against Discrimination that I was being discriminated and retaliated against,” Hall wrote to the Select Board last month. "He played a key role in this discrimination and retaliation and actually put in writing that I was mentally unstable.”

“Secondly, Officer Molloy was also heavily involved in my discrimination and retaliation complaint,” she continued. "As I noted in my email sent to you On February 19, 2022, Safety and Respect at Work, LLC Jean Haertl, who was hired by the town to investigate my complaints, revealed in her findings different situations where Molloy degraded, belittled, bullied, humiliated, and threatened me with bodily assault.”

"This is not about a few mistakes, this is about a pattern of horrific, reprehensible, and illegal behavior. Please, I implore you not to let this promotion pass,” Hall concluded.

Here’s what happened:

Hall's case begins in February 2019, when she filed a bullying and harassment complaint against another officer, now identified as Molloy. An investigation into the matter commenced, but her superiors decided Hall should be disciplined for failing to follow a direct order and not cooperating with a department investigation. At the related disciplinary meeting in April 2019, Hall agreed to a 15-day unpaid suspension as part of a settlement.

In May 2019, Hall filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission on Discrimination in relation to the first suspension. Several months later, she found a flier in her mailbox related to her discipline and took it to her supervisors, as she interpreted it as an attempt to harass her. An investigation was conducted, but Hall found it difficult to get a copy of the report once it was complete.

On September 5, 2019, Hall was granted to return to the station during a patrol shift, planning to once again ask her supervisors for a copy of the investigation report. Meanwhile, while she was at the station, dispatch asked her to meet with a resident who had come into the station to make a report.

Hall acknowledged the call, but allegedly continued to search for the report and the resident left about 30 minutes after Hall received the dispatch.

Hall's supervisors later questioned her about the incident and asked her to write a report, leading to her being issued a five-day unpaid suspension. She appealed the suspension and lost, ultimately taking her appeal to the Civil Service Commission, which ruled in April 2020 that "bias and personal animus" contributed the department's decision to investigate and suspend Hall.

Despite the ruling, Hall claims that she "continued to experience discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation for her complaints on a daily basis by being ostracized, held to higher standards than her male colleagues and being placed in less desirable work assignments." She took a leave of absence in February 2021.

According to court documents, Hall claims male officers are treated more leniently and are less likely to be disciplined. She also reported that a police sergeant who repeatedly retaliated against her humiliated her on social media.

Officer Amy Hall’s lawsuit

On July 19, 2021, Hall filed a lawsuit against the Brookline Police Department, according to documents from Norfolk Superior Court.

Hall is asking for over $5,000 in lost wages and compensation and upwards of $250,000 in damages from emotional distress.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the court date has not yet been determined, said Hall.


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