The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the Division of State Police on behalf of former Trooper Jamie R. Kasper, who was fired in February for what they claim was “in a retaliatory and discriminatory manner.”
The complaint, according to the PBA, outlines the “disparate treatment of former Trooper Kasper compared to male troopers in similar circumstances, raising serious concerns about gender bias in the State Police despite Governor Hochul’s pledge to increase the number of female troopers and ‘improve the experiences of women in law enforcement.’”
The lawsuit seeks to reinstate Kasper as a member of the State Police with full back pay, restore her police certification, and bar New York State Police from using the improperly obtained drug test result in any future proceedings. It also calls for her removal from the decertification list maintained by New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services.
“The facts are clear that in this case, State Police leaders manipulated due process and disregarded their own internal policies to take vindictive and targeted actions against a veteran, mother, and dedicated public servant,” said Charles W. Murphy, President of the New York State Troopers PBA. “This flies in the face of the high standards New Yorkers rightfully expect our agency to uphold. At a time when we face serious recruitment and retention challenges, the treatment of Trooper Kasper sends the absolute wrong message to individuals whose service this state desperately needs.”
“Women in law enforcement face an uphill battle to succeed and advance in what has for far too long been a male-dominated profession,” former Trooper Kasper said. “For nearly two decades, I worked hard to demonstrate my ability to do the job, and more than performed the duties expected of me. All I’m asking for is fair, equal treatment and to be able to return to the work that I love – protecting and serving the people of New York.
The lawsuit details the retaliatory campaign former Trooper Kasper, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who worked in Troop F in the Hudson Valley, endured at the hands of her former employer as her husband, also a former Trooper, sued the agency after he was stripped of his state law enforcement certification. According to the NYSTPBA, the following facts outlined in the lawsuit include:
- Prior to the investigation that preceded her termination from the State Police, former Trooper Kasper had served New York state with distinction for 8 years — never once receiving disciplinary action.
- Former Trooper Kasper was selected for a random drug test, which returned a positive result for a prohibited substance — a result that based on expert opinion, as well as other evidence, was likely linked to the use of unregulated dietary supplements.
- The State Police violated its own drug testing policy by relying on an improper testing method rather than the method required under its own rules. After testing performed on Trooper Kasper’s initial sample came back positive, she delivered a second sample, this time consisting of urine and hair, both of which came back negative for any prohibitive substances.
- Former Trooper Kasper was coerced under threat of discipline during an internal interrogation to reveal private medical information — arguably to lay the groundwork for her dismissal.
- After former Trooper Kasper’s disciplinary hearing initially was adjourned, and despite a mutual understanding that no further testing would occur, the State Police secretly retested her original sample utilizing the proper method.
- This improperly obtained evidence was admitted when a disciplinary hearing was restarted and utilized as grounds for former Trooper Kasper’s ultimate termination.
- In a 2019 case, a male senior investigator tested positive for a prohibited substance he unknowingly ingested when taking a dietary supplement but faced no disciplinary action.
The PBA adds that Kasper had no prior disciplinary history in her 8-year career with the State Police. Follow-up drug test samples returned negative results and expert testimony at her hearing attributed the initial result to potential contamination of unregulated dietary supplements. Despite this, the State Police proceeded with disciplinary action and ultimately terminated Kasper.
The lawsuit cites a 2019 case in which a male senior investigator tested positive for a controlled substance after taking an over-the-counter dietary supplement. State Police confirmed the supplement was contaminated and took no disciplinary action. This, according to Kasper’s suit, underscores the agency’s deeply ingrained bias and selective enforcement of its policies.
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