U.S. town’s first female cop claims colleagues bet who would first have sex with her

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A former officer at a rural Michigan police department has accused her co-workers of relentlessly harassing and assaulting her for 4 1/2 years before she ultimately resigned.

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Teresa Williams, 35, was the first female officer with the town of Iron Mountain, Mich., which has a population of about 7,500, and is located on the Wisconsin border about 160 kilometres north of Green Bay.

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According to the lawsuit, she was forced to make out with her direct supervisor, Joseph Dumais, at a bar within weeks of being hired in October 2017.

Dumais, the force’s deputy director of police services, allegedly pressured her into doing a shot of Fireball whiskey, then had to kiss him as a form of initiation, NBC News reported.

Williams initially refused but ultimately “buckled to the pressure and took the ‘IMPD shot’ with Dumais who, as a result, kissed Plaintiff and stated that she was now ‘officially part of IMPD.’”

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She also accused former patrol partner Garth Budek of forcing himself on her and making her touch his genitals over his pants as she drove him home from a bar, according to court documents.

During another incident, Williams visited Budek’s home to watch a movie with him and his wife. When his wife left the room, Budek allegedly grabbed her hand, “guided her downstairs” and “pressured” her to perform oral sex on him, the lawsuit stated.

Williams later found out the two men had a bet on who could sleep with her first.

She eventually met with Dumais and another officer to report the ongoing sexual harassment in March 2022 but she was told she would be fired if she didn’t resign, the suit alleged.

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She left the force in April.

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Ed Mattson, director of police and fire services, is also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to act on Williams’ misconduct allegations.

Williams claims in her lawsuit she suffered sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and a hostile work environment, although it is unclear what or how much she is seeking in damages.

“I want to see somebody step in and take action — like hold these people accountable,” she told NBC. “Just because you wear a badge and you’re a cop, it doesn’t mean you’re above the law. It doesn’t mean you get to treat people however you want and break the law and do whatever you want.”

She added: “I want, especially the community of Iron Mountain, to know that I’m doing this because they have the right to know… what and who it is they have that is supposed to be protecting and serving them.”