A civilian employee of the NYPD says she was sexually harassed for two years by a police officer and a supervisor, culminating in the officer pulling and aiming his gun at her inside police headquarters earlier this year, according to a new lawsuit.
The employee, Megan Kwan, says Officer Quilbvio Espinal repeatedly sent her sexually explicit text messages and made racist comments to her, including by saying he had an “Asian fetish” and referring to her as his “baby momma,” according to the lawsuit.
Kwan, who worked in the department’s information technology bureau, repeatedly asked him to stop, but he refused, the lawsuit says.
Paul Townsend, an attorney for Espinal, reviewed the complaint Monday and said it was meritless. "The complaint here is absurd, shameful and it is utterly frivolous," Townsend said.
An NYPD spokesperson said Espinal is suspended with pay.
The lawsuit alleges Espinal’s supervisor, Jayson Valentin, also sexually harassed Kwan during this period. Valentin asked her to send him nude photographs and sent her a photo of his genitals over an app that makes messages disappear after they are sent, the lawsuit alleges.
The behavior culminated in March, when Espinal pointed his department-issued gun at Kwan after she embarrassed him by offering a suggestion about a project he was working on in front of the director of their unit, the suit states.
Espinal was arrested soon after the incident and charged with menacing, according to the lawsuit and a department spokesperson. The NYPD said at the time that its internal affairs bureau was investigating the matter.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages that can be determined at trial.
Kwan is being represented by attorney John Scola, who said in a statement that Kwan’s case is representative of a broader issue within the department.
“This case is not only about what happened to Megan Kwan. It reflects the NYPD’s repeated failure to protect women from predatory employees within its own ranks,” Scola’s statement said.
A spokesperson for the city Law Department said the agency will review the lawsuit.
This story has been updated with a comment from Espinal's attorney.
