Report: Central Falls To Pay $90K To Settle Dispatcher's Lawsuit

CENTRAL FALLS — The city has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former police dispatcher.

The federal lawsuit filed by former Central Falls police dispatcher Kelly Baxter in in Sept. 2019 was dropped on March 9 with the city agreeing to pay Baxter $81,000 and the city's insurer covering $9,000, according to a settlement agreement procured by The Providence Journal. The city did not admit to any wrongdoing and the document included a non-disparagement clause.

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The alleged harassment occurred under former Mayor James Diossa and former Police Chief James J. Mendonca. Two officers named as defendants in the lawsuit — Det. Omar Ospina and Lt. Joseph D. Tougas — remain on payroll, city spokeswoman Sarah Dell told The Journal.

Baxter in her lawsuit alleged crude and unchecked sexual harassment, in large part by Ospina and Tougas. She said she had made her superiors aware of the situation to no avail.

City spokeswoman Sarah Dell told the Providence newspaper that new Mayor Maria Rivera, on her first day in office, appointed a new police chief, Anthony Roberson, and promised a new focus on diversity, transparency, non-discrimination and non-harassment.

Diossa, who is on the short list to become Gov. Dan McKee's lieutenant governor, said he respects Rivera's decision to settle the lawsuit. "In my time as mayor, I felt we took every step possible with legal guidance to ensure a fair process and this is, I think, a fair outcome for both parties."

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