Brookline fires police chief Ashley Gonzalez after 'sustained allegations of sexual harassment'
BROOKLINE - Brookline's Select Board fired Police Chief Ashley Gonzalez on Friday after an independent investigation found "multiple admitted, corroborated and sustained allegations of sexual harassment against female employees" in the police department.
A statement from the town said the vote to terminate Gonzalez, who was sworn in as chief in June, was unanimous.
Gonzalez was placed on paid administrative leave in August after the town learned of multiple allegations against him.
A 130-page report from a Quincy-based firm detailed the allegations against Gonzalez. It described how even before being sworn in as chief, an employee said Gonzalez sent "bizarre" messages to her over LinkedIn and made inappropriate comments.
"Chief Gonzalez's behavior is something that I have never experienced since I have been in this position for the last eight years," an employee wrote in an email to the town's Human Resources department. "This is blatant sexual harassment, this needs to be addressed."
All the women who reported Gonzalez's harassment still work at the department. Town leaders thanked them for their bravery coming forward.
"These hateful actions have no place in Brookline no matter how powerful you think you are," said Brookline Town Administrator Charles Carey.
Gonzalez, who passed through 18 reference calls, sent texts and made comments about female employee's sex lives with their husbands, among other things, town officials say.
"I think I was in shock, but I was just so insulted, like it made me feel awful," an anonymous employee said. "I was like grossed out. I was just like, 'Oh my God, this is my boss day 1."
Gonzalez came to Brookline from Austin, Texas in March after spending most of his 33-year career in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he rose to Deputy Chief.
"Imagine the town shock and dismay to learn that by the time Mr. Gonzalez arrived in Brookline he had already begun weeks earlier to sexually harass a female subordinate," Carey said.
Jennifer Paster has stepped in to serve as Brookline's acting police chief.