Police Capt. Lynn Baldoni should drop her latest lawsuit against the common council, accept her promotion to deputy police chief and get on with being a leader of the Middletown Police Department. The department needs a leader of her caliber.
Ms. Baldoni sued the council last month when it balked at accepting a settlement worked out between her lawyer and the city. Under the terms of that settlement, Ms. Baldoni would drop a federal lawsuit accusing the city of sexual harassment and discrimination if she were promoted to deputy police chief.
The council eventually accepted the settlement. But in the course of their discussions, Ms. Baldoni said, council members undermined her authority and created a hostile work environment. The claim is wrong on its face. The council is no rubber stamp for the mayor, and its members had every right — a duty, even — to question the terms of the settlement.
Last week, lawyers for the city asked Senior U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Dorsey to dismiss Ms. Baldoni’s case against the council. They argued that the lawsuit violated the terms of the settlement between the city and Ms. Baldoni.
Judge Dorsey disagreed and declined to dismiss the case. But he also advised Ms. Baldoni to develop a thicker skin.
It would have been better had Ms. Baldoni’s promotion been based solely on her demonstrated competence, character and intelligence. But the police department, with its well-documented cases of unprofessional conduct (including a former deputy chief who was the target of several sexual-harassment complaints), is ample proof that not everything goes the way it should.
The department needs a leader like Ms. Baldoni. Regardless of how she got the job, the bottom line is that she is a good officer and she has prevailed. In fact, she has forged her own path.
It’s time for Ms. Baldoni to drop the lawsuits and take up the reins as deputy chief.
