PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Police Department’s 26th District faced widespread criticism in June 2020, after its officers stood by as white vigilantes with bats and hammers terrorized Black Lives Matter protesters in Fishtown.
But during that period of civil unrest, a mini-scandal was unfolding inside the district headquarters on Girard Avenue.
Officer Jose Dones kept taking his pants off.
At least, that’s according to a federal lawsuit filed by Officer Kelly Neal, who says she was demoted and returned to street duty, partially in retaliation for her complaints about her colleague.
Dones, a community relations officer, would regularly change from one pair of pants into another in the middle of the office, instead of using a locker room or bathroom, according to the lawsuit. The practice continued even after Neal or other female officers complained to supervisors, the suit contends.
Eventually, Neal started recording what she saw. Photographs from the “disrobing videos” are included as exhibits in the lawsuit, complete with play-by-play descriptions.
“At approximately 0:08 seconds into the video,” the complaint alleges, “Defendant Dones fingers the crack in his buttocks to remove his wedged underwear therefrom.”
The activity occurred directly behind Neal and in the presence of other officers. In one video, a man places food in the office refrigerator as Dones is in the process of putting his pants on.
Neither Dones nor his attorneys responded this week to requests for comment.
In a court filing, Angela Lee Velez, an attorney representing Dones, said the video recording of Dones “was done without his permission and/or consent, potentially in violation of the law or City policy.”
Velez denied that Dones did anything wrong and said he acted “without any malicious intent.”
“Any alleged damages or losses, if any, were caused, in whole or in part, by Plaintiff’s own acts, omissions, or conduct,” the filing states.
Neal’s attorney, J. Conor Corcoran, said his client lodged a complaint with Internal Affairs, but that investigation is still pending.
“We’re going to take it to a jury and see what they have to say about Mr. Fruit Of The Loom,” Corcoran said.
Dones is a 32-year veteran with the department who has been praised in the 26th District’s social media accounts for his work in the community. (Note to Google searchers: Dones shares a name with an internet-famous go-go dancer who also frequently appears pantless online. Different person).
It was not immediately clear this week why Officer Dones insisted on changing in the office.
The lawsuit says the video “clearly portrays Defendant Dones in flagrante delicto, successfully parading this sexually aggressive display of himself, in his underwear and in the open office environment of the 26th District.” It characterized his behavior as a “sordid parade of sexually intimidating deshabille,” and also claims that he would not allow female officers to speak to other officers while he was getting changed.
Corcoran said that both male and female officers had complained.
The lawsuit posits that no action has been taken against Dones because of his friendships with Police Department leaders, including two chief inspectors.
Neal could not file her lawsuit until June 2022 because she had been waiting for her complaint to work its way through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC took no action, but issued a right-to-sue letter in March.
She says she was reassigned in December 2020 when she returned to work after recovering from COVID-19. Neal alleges that she was moved from the Victim Assistance Desk and put on street duty in retaliation for complaining about Dones, and because her supervisor unfairly blamed her for spreading the virus.
No trial date has been set.
