The first female cop ever to serve in a small Michigan town was groped by a supervisor during a twisted initiation ritual then forced to have oral sex with a married patrol officer, according to a lawsuit.
Teresa Williams, 35, claims she was relentlessly sexually harassed during her four years working for the rural Iron Mountain Police Department (IMPD), according to a federal suit obtained by The Post.
“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,” Williams told NBC Thursday.
In October 2017, just weeks after being hired, Williams was coerced into making out with her direct supervisor, Joseph Dumais, at a bar, the court papers state.
Dumais, the force’s deputy director of police services, allegedly pressured her into doing a Fireball whiskey shot then kissing him in order to be “initiated” into the “IMPD,” according to the suit, filed Feb. 13.
“[Williams] refused and said the whole thing was made up. Dumais responded that it was required and that everyone had to do it as protocol,” the suit states. “To allegedly demonstrate, Dumais took an initial shot along with a former county dispatcher (male) then kissed him.”
“Ultimately, [Williams] 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’,” the lawsuit states.
After another shot, Dumais allegedly, “Put his hand between [her] legs and grabbed her genitals,” according to the court papers.
At a later date, her former patrol partner, Garth Budek, forced himself on her and allegedly made her touch his genitals over his pants as she drove him home from a bar, according to the court papers.
During another undated incident, Williams visited Budek’s home to watch a movie with his partner and his wife.
When his wife excused herself, Williams’ partner grabbed her hand, “guided her downstairs” and “pressured” her to perform oral sex on him, the lawsuit states.
Williams was appalled to later learn that Budek and Dumais had placed a bet on who could have sex with her first, the suit states.
In March 2022, Williams met with Dumais and another officer to air official grievances about ongoing sexual harassment in the department , according to the lawsuit.
Soon after, she was told she would be fired if she didn’t resign, according to the suit, and she left the force in April.
Ed Mattson, director of police and fire services, is also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to act on Williams’ harassment allegations.
The suit claims William suffered sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, a hostile work environment but doesn’t note how much money she’s seeking in damages.
Gregory Grant, an attorney who represents all of the defendants in the lawsuit, declined to comment on the case to NBC.
“With this said, the City of Iron Mountain has always been committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment for all of its employees,” he said.