Carrie Czachor says she faced isolation, harassment on the job
A Windsor police officer who was harassed by a fellow officer and injured on the job has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario about her employer — the Windsor Police Service.
Carrie Czachor, a Windsor police constable since 2016, is seeking $3.8 million in damages.
“This is an important case about accountability, justice and changing the system,” wrote Czachor’s lawyer, Chase Frazer, in a statement to CBC Windsor.
According to Frazer, his client spent years advocating for herself, only to be “silenced and penalized by the police service.”
“She is a survivor of a system that, instead of protecting her, prioritized protecting her harassers and abusers.”
In the complaint, Czachor alleges that she was continually mistreated by some of her colleagues and superiors as a result of her ending a relationship in 2020 with another officer who was a senior constable at the time.
The complaint describes the relationship as “abusive,” and details the officer’s behaviour after the break up. According to the complaint, he attempted to contact Czachor more than 40 times a day, started rumours about Czachor in the organization, and threatened to leak intimate images of her.
The officer pleaded guilty in 2022 to criminal harassment against Czachor. He received a suspended sentence and 12 months of probation.
The complaint further details Czachor’s experiences in her workplace following her former partner’s arrest. They included: enduring a campaign of name-calling from fellow officers; having her private information circulated among her colleagues; being told she was hindering her career by speaking out; and increasing isolation by her peers.
The complaint states that on Aug. 7, 2021, Czachor was grievously injured during the arrest of a “significantly larger” suspect.
According to the complaint, Czachor had “no backup” on the call. Her injuries included a fractured neck, a torn shoulder, and damaged vertebrae.
Treatment of Czachor’s injuries required immediate hospitalization, followed by multiple surgeries — at least eight procedures from December 2021 to May 2024, according to the complaint. Czachor now lives with disabilities, Frazer wrote.
The complaint accuses WPS of pressuring Czachor to return to work in the patrol support unit, against the advice of her treating physicians. Those pressuring attempts have involved cutting off pay and denying benefits, the complaint alleges.
Czachor’s requests for accommodation of her disabilities or a work-from-home arrangement were refused, according to the complaint.
Along with asking for $3.8 million in damages, Czachor is seeking compensation for lost wages and benefits, reimbursement of medical expenses and financial losses; an order that the Windsor Police Service undergo training to protect and enhance the workplace code of conduct; and a formal, public apology.
“[Windsor police] held sexist and ableist beliefs and values about the complainant,” the complaint states.
In a statement, the Windsor Police Service declined further comment because the matter is before the HRTO, but confirmed the officer with whom Czachor was in a relationship is “no longer employed” by the service.
Originally published on CBC.ca: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-police-service-carrie-czachor-complaint-1.7618903