DeMoura|Smith up One International Place 14° Floor 170 Commerce Way, 2nd Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110 Portsmouth, NH 03801 617.538.7531 (603.205.8545 617.535.7532 (Facsimil 603.205.8501 (facsimile) April 29, 2016 Atty. Robert Sullivan City of Portsmouth Legal Department TJunkins Avenue Portsmouth, NH 03801 Re: Demand Letter re: Anticipated Suit Dear Atty. Sullivan: We represent Kristyn Bernier in connection with litigation regarding discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violations of RSA 98-e, arising out of the long-term systematic treatment of Detective Bernier by the prior administration of the police department, and the ongoing and unresolved baseless internal affairs investigation by Investigator Michael Pardue which has been supported and funded by the City of Portsmouth through the Portsmouth Police Department. The anticipated suit would allege as follows: Chronology of Discrimination and Retaliatory Practice Employed by the Administration of the Portsmouth Police Department against Kristyn Bernier Detective Kristyn Bernier is a 22 year veteran of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Police Department, specializing in undercover internet crime investigation, child exploitation, sexually based crimes, domestic violence, sex offender management, human trafficking, cold case homicides and undercover narcotics work. She has served as a member of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children ("ICAC") Task Force. She developed the guidelines for New Hampshire ICAC for forensically interviewing suspects in child exploitation cases. She is a primary hostage/crisis negotiator for the Seacoast Emergency Response Team. Det. Bernier is the co-author of Cyber Crime Fighters: Tales from the Trenches (Que 2009), and co-authored a chapter on Sexual Offenders in Serial Offenders:Theory and Practice (Jones and Bartlett 2012). Detective Bernier revised the Portsmouth Police Department Domestic Violence SOP and then designed a comprehensive domestic violence training which was attended byall sworn members of the Portsmouth Police Department which coincided with the release of the revised SOP, She trains law enforcement professionals and other multi- disciplinary professionals in various areas, including the interview and interrogation of sex offenders and child predators, sex offender management, domestic violence and sexual assault, suicide, investigative techniques and victim interview techniques. She is regularly asked to provide input into and testimony on legislative bills going before the House of Representatives and Senate in NH. Det. Bernier has been recognized by the Department of Justice, the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, Sexual Assault Support Services and other agencies with awards and commendations. DENIAL OF PROMOTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES, and ARBITRARY TRANSFERS OF 0 BERNIER In 2008, Bernier was assigned to specialize in drug work. While assigned to the drug unit, Bernier was also managing sex offenders and investigating sexual assault cases, as well as child exploitation cases. Bernier had the most undercover and drug experience in the agency, having been the administrative supervisor for the New Hampshire Drug Task Force, where she had been assigned from April, 1999 through December, 2004. She had more drug experience managing cases than any supervisor at the Portsmouth Police Department. In September, 2009, Bernier was told she was being moved out of the drug unit and being replaced by two male officers, neither of whom had drug experience. Ultimately, they did not succeed and were replaced. Bernier was told that the basis for the move was that she was needed in ICAC and to investigate sexual assaults. Since that time, her caseload has been primarily crimes against women and children, which she excels at, however, she has repeatedly expressed an interest in returning to drug work. In the spring of 2012, the United States Marshals Office offered Bernier specifically designated grant funded overtime to work on cases involving sex offender compliance and arrests. Such grant funding would have provided guaranteed overtime on Bernier's cases, as she was the only person within the department that managed sex offenders. Bernier sent the all requested application materials, and requested a status with the Portsmouth Police Department administration since the United States Marshall's Office continued to ask for her involvement. She was informed by the Portsmouth Police Department administration that she would not be permitted the grant. The basis for this denial by the Department was that they believed they could not give Bernier overtime funds not available to all others in the Department. She was the only personnel within the department that was qualified under the grant to deal with sex offender compliance. Included in the grant was overtime available annually. The grant money was eligible to be reallocated in subsequent years. In the summer of 2012, Bernier was chosen by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office to be on the Governor’s Commission Human Trafficking Committee asa result of her work and experience. Despite the chairperson of the commission contacting the Portsmouth Police Department as well as a receiving a formal invitation, the Department chose instead to send a male, rookie patrol officer with no investigative experience to fill the position, In 2013, Bernier learned she would no longer handling ICAC cases....and this discovery was made by reading the local paper, the Portsmouth Herald. She was not notified by the administration of the Portsmouth Police Department. Bernier had been integral to establishing protocols for ICAC in the state by designing the forensic outline for interviews and interrogations and had had many successful, high profile and intricate cases with the task force. The basis for her move out of the task force was not explained to her. In the spring of 2013, an open position was posted with the New Hampshire Drug Task Force ("DTF') to which Bernier applied. She had the most experience as well as the most tenure of all of the candidates. A male counterpart with no undercover experience was chosen to fill the position. This position had guaranteed overtime which Bernier does not have in her current position. In the summer of 2014, a position became available with the Drug Enforcement Agency ("DEA") task force. Without an open solicitation to everyone that was in detectives at the time, the Department chose a male detective for the position. Bernier inquired why the position had not been open to all for application. She was told that the DEA had specifically asked for a male candidate. Because of this decision, the DEA was not offered any selection of potential candidates. This position had approximately $17,500 in overtime available annually guaranteed. Bernier's current position does not. After previously being denied two opportunities for which she was specifically requested because the Department indicated a policy of positions needing to be offered to all qualified, that policy did not apply to the DEA vacancy. RETALIATORY ACTIONS AGAINST BERNIER BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ADMINSTRATION INITIAL INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATION and ARBITRATION and TAMPERING WITH BERNIER's PERSONNEL FILE Jn 2013, an anonymous letter was sent to the Portsmouth Herald and the police department alleging that Deputy Chief Corey MacDonald had grabbed the breast of a female officer, and that she had been promoted to detective as a result of the incident. The letter was sent to the police department on or about November 13, 2013. Bernier ‘was made aware of the letter from an undisclosed source, due to a belief by that source ‘that the letter had been made to appear to have been written by a female employee. Thesource also indicated that once the letter was received, Deputy MacDonald and Chief Steven DuBois would go after Bernier assuming she had authored the letter. Bernier had absolutely no connection to the letter and had no contemporaneous knowledge of the alleged sexual harassment. Out of fear of misplaced retaliation, Bernier immediately met with a union representative on the day she was made aware of the letter. While meeting with her representative, she was contacted to see Captain Frank Warchol. Upon meeting with Warchol, she was served with a notice of complaint and internal affairs investigation ("IA") The basis of the complaint were remarks which Bernier had made about an equally ranked officer's abilities while she was with other officers of equal rank within the Portsmouth Police Department building. A full internal investigation was done, with several people being interviewed. During Bernier's interview, she was questioned about whether she had been providing information to the Portsmouth Herald, which factually was unrelated to any allegations that formed the basis of the IA. As a result of the investigation, Bernier was given two days of ‘unpaid suspension, However she was notified if she would sign a pre-written letter of apology, her suspension would be reduced to one day. The initial letter presented to her by the Department administration contained language that she had been the source to the press, however the Department was unable to prove that allegation. The initial draft further alleged that Bernier was not being truthful about being the source. Bernier took issue with the letter in that respect having no foundation or merit, and ultimately that language was removed. Bernier signed the amended apology letter. She was told that Captain Schwartz and herself would be able to make arrangements to find a day of suspension that was convenient for the detective division. Bernier immediately asked the union to intervene based on the escalating situation, and a grievance was filed. Deputy Chief MacDonald then unilaterally chose a day for Bernier's suspension and ordered it be served prior to the grievance being worked out. Bernier served the one-day suspension unpaid as directed by the Deputy Chief while the grievance was pending. ‘The grievance was scheduled for arbitration, and a hearing was scheduled for December, 2014. The arbiter was granted access to Bernier’s personnel file, as it was likely to weigh heavily on a determination of the appropriateness of the punitive measures by the Portsmouth Police Department against Bernier. Prior to the arbitration hearing, however after the arbiter had reviewed Bernier's personnel file, Bernier was asked to provide the union attorney some information from her personnel file. Upon reviewing her own file, a number of things were noted. There was gravely inconsistent documentation per standard operating procedures of the Portsmouth Police Department, her file had been accessed by Department Administration without any stated or relevant cause, it was grossly disorganized, and most alarmingly, there were numerous commendations and letters missing, including many from the Department itself. The arbiter had been provided with an incomplete personnel file by thePortsmouth Police Department to review prior to arbitration concerning the appropriateness of their sanctions against Bernier. Bernier filed a complaint with the Department regarding the status of her personnel file, and she provided as much information as she could to reconstruct the positive aspects, commendations, awards and articles of recognition that were not in her file. She was assured by the administration that the situation would be rectified, but that there would be no investigation into how the file was so mismanaged. In April of 2015, the arbiter ruled in Bernier's favor, and her suspension was overturned. She only received the decision by asking for it from her union representative, The Portsmouth Police Department administration never notified Bernier or provided her with the decision. Despite the underlying IA being documented in her file, the arbitrator's decision was not placed in her file, Bernier had to proactively request the reimbursement for the unpaid day in 2014, as the Portsmouth Police Department administration made no effort to do so. In October of 2015, Bernier again reviewed her personnel file, which was still missing numerous commendations, and found that information had been added regarding her suspension of which she had not been notified. Specifically, there was a notice to New Hampshire Police Standards and Training ("PS&T"). While NH Police Standards and Training requires only notice of a suspension of greater than one day, the Portsmouth Police Department administration had notified PS&T of Bernier’s one-day suspension. Nor did they inform Bernier that they had reported the suspension to PS&T or placed the information in her file. The notice was stapled to a document with a much earlier date which Bernier had been notified of, yet the PS&T documentation was never given to her. More egregious, once the arbitration reversed her suspension, PS&T was NOT notified that the suspension was removed, and that she was paid for that day. As of this date, this has not been corrected. SENSITIVE CASES INVOLVING BERNIER'S INVOLVEMENT AND RETALIATORY ACTIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT ADMINSTRATION From 2014 through 2015, Bernier was a source of information in a case involving an officer who met an elderly woman and befriended her while on duty, only to be named as primary heir in her multi-million dollar estate. This case was a widely publicized case in which the Department was under intense scrutiny and ultimately chastised for their handing of the matter. Itis often referred to as the Goodwin/Webber matter. Her involvement in this matter would lead to her speaking with a private investigator, counsel and supervisors about the Department's handling of the situation. Bernier also had two cases during this time frame in which she expressed concerns regarding conflict of interest with specified Department personnel.STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. ONETA BOBBETT One of the cases in which Bernier had expressed concern regarding department conflict of interest was State of New Hampshire v. Oneta Bobbett. The then Acting Rockingham County Attorney (Senior Assistant Attorney General James Boffetti) decided only two people from the Portsmouth Police Department could be involved due to the conflict; Bernier as the lead investigator and Captain Michael Schwartz. The case involved criminal charges against the estranged wife of a prominent businessman, That businessman, Jonathan Bobbett was involved both financially and socially with Deputy Chief Corey MacDonald and Chief Stephen DuBois, MacDonald was providing legal services to Jonathan Bobbett and was renting his law office space from Jonathan Bobbett. Oneta and Jonathan Bobbett were involved in a contentious divorce, and at least two Portsmouth officers were called to testify on behalf of Jonathan during the divorce proceedings. Bernier had expressed concern about the conflict impacting the felony level case against Oneta Bobbett, and Deputy Chief Corey MacDonald objected to any conflict being raised....going so far as threatening discipline against Bernier. Despite MacDonald being an attorney, he failed to note the conflict until supervisors concurred with Bernier. Subsequently, Bernier had been given information that Jonathan Bobbett was looking to gifta vehicle to an officer, and that there was a further potential business deal between Jonathan Bobbett and Department personnel. Bernier conveyed that information to Captain Schwartz, and he in turn brought it to Acting County Attorney Boffetti. Chief DuBois complained, despite his being explicitly excluded from the case by the County Attorney due to a conflict, that the information was passed on to Boffetti and not Dubois directly. Deputy Chief Corey MacDonald, again, despite being specifically conflicted off of the case by the lead law enforcement agent for the county, confronted Bernier in the parking lot about what information she had concerning the potential business dealings, and from whom she had heard the information. Honoring the conflict and parameters set by the County Attorney, Bernier refused to tell MacDonald. MacDonald confirmed that a vehicle was being negotiated for an officer once the businessman's soon to be ex-wife's case (Oneta Bobbett) was complete. MacDonald seemed agitated, and blurted out a statement to the effect that no one was supposed to know about a particular deal, MacDonald ended his statement abruptly, said nothing further and left Bernier. MacDonald told Bernier that he had passed the word on that no officer should be receiving anything. MacDonald approached Bernier again at a later date, and Bernier advised that she would not speak with him about it. Bernier expressed concerns to supervisors that given MacDonald's pre-existing animosity for her, and his explicit conflicts in the Bobbett matter, he should not be apprised of any developments in the case and prohibited from approaching her concerning the same. These concerns were expressed on several occasions.However, next Chief DuBois approached Bernier about the Bobbett case and where the specific information came from regarding a potential business transaction. Bernier advised that she would not tell Dubois who had provided the information to her as it was a department employee who had overheard it in the building. She was then ordered to speak with Captain Schwartz to answer the questions regarding the information, and since Captain Schwartz was within the personnel allowed to have information in the Bobbett investigation, Bernier did so in the presence of a union Tepresentative. She was told that the information would be confidential. Several days after that meeting with Bernier, Corey MacDonald's law partner, Tim Black, also a Portsmouth Police Department officer, approached Bernier’s union representative at the firing range and relayed what Black knew about the meeting. The information provided in confidence by Bernier was in the hands of Corey MacDonald's partner within days of the meeting. Oneta Bobbet’s criminal defense counsel had presented the city with a Preservation letter for all communication between employees of the Portsmouth Police Department and Jonathan Bobbett. This request pertained to any bias that may exist for the Department to pursue Oneta Bobbett as a favor to Jonathan Bobbett for leverage in their custody battle, The charges against Oneta Bobbett consisted of two misdemeanors and one felony. Upon taking the case, Bernier had advised supervisors that Oneta Bobbett would use the relationship between Jonathan Bobbett and Portsmouth Police Department employees as a way to deflect her responsibility in the case, ie. as the basis. for why any charges were being pursued as leverage in the custody battle. The case was scheduled for trial, and unbeknownst to Bernier or Schwartz, the only authorized Portsmouth Police Department contacts for the matter, a plea deal was struck dramatically reducing the charges. Bernier found out accidentally and confronted County Attorney Pat Conway, who had been elected and replaced Boffetti. Conway stated that she met with City Attorney Bob Sullivan and Chief DuBois regarding the plea and that it was authorized by them on behalf of the Portsmouth Police Department, Bernier was informed the felony and two misdemeanors were reduced to a diverted misdemeanor which resulted in community service and a small fine with no criminal conviction. Bernier informed Captain Schwartz who stated he was unaware of the plea as well. Bernier requested a determination if the Chief had in fact, met with the County Attorney to discuss the case and reach a resolution. Schwartz met with Dubois, and was informed that Dubois had no knowledge of the plea. Bernier again met with Attorney Conway and confirmed that Conway had met with Sullivan and DuBois on two occasions when the Bobbett plea was discussed and approved by the Department.Prior to Dubois and Sullivan negotiating the disposition of the Bobbett criminal matter, DuBois sent emails ordering case details regarding the Bobbett investigation. One of the emails specifically ordered Bernier to divulge evidence from the cell phone that she had seized from Oneta Bobbett. Bernier sent him the extraction report that was available on the Department server, but Dubois indicated he was looking for the physical evidence, The entire phone dump was on a disc and would require a reader in order to interpret it. The scope of the search warrant only allowed Bernier to extract case-specific information; nothing else that may have been on the device concerning inculpatory information regarding Jonathan Bobbett and the Police Department. Within a couple of days of the emails from Dubois regarding the Bobbett case and investigation, MacDonald and Black announced their resignation from the department to pursue a full time legal practice. PROBATE INVESTIGATION INTO GOODWIN/WEBBER MATTER During the course of the Goodwin-Webber investigation and the Bobbett case, Bernier was concerned about coming forward with information regarding the Police Department administration's handling of both matters. While Bernier was never interviewed as part of the Goodwin internal investigation, she came forward with information when an investigator, Michael Pardue of Tideview Group from Kennebunk, ME, was assigned to look into the matter for the city. She initially met with the City Attorney, Robert Sullivan, in August of 2014 to advise of what she knew first hand, as well as to advise him that she was terrified of retaliation by MacDonald and DuBois given their prior actions against Bernier. Bernier told Sullivan about her concerns with the anonymous letter that alleged sexual harassment, as well as the information she had concerning the Goodwin-Webber situation. Sullivan advised that ‘he would pass Bernier’s name on to the investigator, Pardue. Bernier met with Attorney Paul McEachern when she had not heard from Investigator Pardue. McEachern was involved in the investigation as counsel for the Webber estate, Bernier advised McEachern of her concerns of being retaliated against by | Dubois, MacDonald, and the administration of the Police Department. She provided McEachern with information about the Goodwin-Webber matter, some of which was utilized by McEachern during Aaron Goodwin's deposition. It was factually clear where the information had come from, as Bernier had been with Aaron Goodwin on two occasions at the Goodwin residence, and Goodwin had confided in Bernier regarding the elderly woman's desire to leave Goodwin her home. ‘Bernier met with Investigator Pardue in November of 2014, and explained to him that she had a fear of retaliation and being targeted by the Portsmouth Police Department administration. Pardue and Bernier discussed not only the Goodwin case, but incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination within the department. She also advised Pardue that she had been targeted in the past for gender discrimination and asretaliation for perceived wrongs. Pardue advised that his scope of the investigation had. been widened, and that the information would be passed on, although he did not indicate to who. Bernier took part in a subsequent interview with Pardue. During that interview, she outlined what had occurred with the Bobbett case and how the conflict of interest played out by the administration leading into the plea deal. When the Goodwin-Webber official report was made public, none of the information brought to Pardue’s attention by Bernier regarding other issues within the Portsmouth Police Department were mentioned or addressed. Bernier remains unaware of to whom the information was given, In June of 2015, a patrol officer's union meeting was held to discuss a vote of no confidence in the administration. Bernier was one of the few members who openly spoke up in favor of the vote of no confidence. The next day, it was announced that Goodwin was terminated from the Department. That same day, an anonymous letter was sent to a reporter for the Portsmouth Herald. The reporter also posted it on her ‘Twitter account. The letter made allegations against MacDonald and Dubois. Bernier had nothing to do with the letter, however, she was concerned that as previously, an anonymous letter would result in retaliatory actions by MacDonald and DuBois. On July 1, 2015, a further anonymous letter was sent to the Portsmouth Herald, city council, the police commission and Chief DuBois, making erroneous allegations about Bernier and Brenna Cavanaugh, a commissioner who had been outspoken about the Goodwin-Webber situation and the lack in confidence in the administration of the Portsmouth Police Department. The letter falsely named Bernier as the source to the paper, as having a mental health issue as documented by a detective sergeant in the department, and as having committed witness tampering, perjury and destruction of evidence on an unspecified past rape case. While Bernier acquired a copy of the letter in the beginning of July, the Portsmouth Police Department never made Bernier aware of the anonymous letter or the impact that it could have on her reputation and credibility. Investigator Pardue was again hired by the city, but to only look into specific parts of the letter involving Commissioner Cavanaugh and the possible source of the letter. His report was completed in December, 2015 for those issues, His report found the allegations within the letter were unsubstantiated. During the time frame of the summer of 2015 into the fall of 2015, Chief Dubois negotiated an agreement with the City of Portsmouth, which resulted in him leaving his position. A severance deal was worked out after the Goodwin-Webber report was. released. Despite having the letter in his possession since July and despite a City funded investigation into the same, DuBois did not address the allegations against Bernier, nor did he notify her of the same.IA REGARDING BONDS CASE AND ALLEGATIONS OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT On November 20, 2015, as DuBois was entering his last month as police chief, deviating from all known IAs prior, he personally served Bernier with a notice of complaint and IA based upon the anonymous letter. Dubois did not give details of the letter or the case to which the criminal allegations related, however Bernier was accused of numerous violations of rules and regulations, SOPs and two felonies, parroting what was alleged in the anonymous letter. DuBois, in the presence of Lt. Mark Newport, told Bernier that he was following the recommendation of Investigator Michael Pardue that there was enough to warrant an internal affairs investigation based upon Pardue's, pending investigation into the letter regarding the Cavanaugh allegations. Dubois, stated that the reason that the IA notice took so long was that Pardue needed to get the court transcripts of the unnamed rape case in which Bernier was alleged to have committed witness tampering and destruction of evidence, both felonies. No specific case was cited at the meeting or in the IA complaint, or in the letter itself. DuBois appeared surprised when Bernier told him she already had the anonymous letter from July. He advised Bernier that Pardue would be contacting her. To be clear, Dubois, on his way out of office as Chief, personally served Bernier with notice of an internal affairs investigation alleging that she had committed felony level criminal acts, He had the same anonymous letter for five months and had taken no action against Bernier, despite the City funding a contemporaneous, timely and duplicate investigation by Pardue into the same letter. Pardue did not contact Bernier until January 22, 2016 via email. By that point, Dubois had left office. Interim Chief David Mara had been provided no information on the pending IA against Bernier. Bernier spoke with Chief Mara regarding the IA, and he reached out to Investigator Pardue. The union president presented a letter to Interim Chief Mara regarding the IA and pointed out that Pardue had a conflict of interest since Bernier had expressed fears of retaliation by MacDonald and DuBois during previous interviews with him on the Goodwin-Webber investigation, Bernier had explicitly told Pardue she was worried about retaliation by Dubois and MacDonald; and Dubois chose, and Pardue accepted, an assignment to conduct an internal affairs investigation into Bernier for shockingly serious allegations based on anonymous letter that Pardue had determined was at least in part unsubstantiated. At the beginning of February, 2016 Bernier was advised that the managing attorney at the New Hampshire Public Defender’s Office in Stratham, Deanna Campbell, had received information that Bernier was under investigation by the department. Campbell was preparing to defendant a serial rape case in which Bernier was the lead investigator, State V. James Banks, Campbell filed a motion with Judge Wageling regarding obtaining any information pertaining to a pending IA against 10Bernier. At this juncture, it had been over two months since Dubois accused Bernier of felony criminal conduct, and there was no appearance of progress in the IA. The day after Campbell somehow obtained this confidential information that even the acting Chief was unaware of, Bernier was interviewed by Pardue. On February 4, 2016, in the presence of counsel and a union representative, Michael Pardue conducted a recorded interview with Bernier. Bernier asked permission to record the interaction as well, and Pardue agreed. During the interview, Bernier asked Pardue if he had spoken with the County Attorney about the allegations. He stated that the only person he had spoken to regarding the IA was DuBois and no one else so as to protect her confidentiality and reputation. Bernier asked Pardue why it took him so long to set up an interview, and Pardue advised that he found out about the internal the same day Bernier did at the end of November. Pardue went on to tell Bernier he did NOT obtain transcripts from the court, and that DuBois handed him the transcripts in November. The only information Pardue had was the anonymous letter and the transcripts. He advised that DuBois provided him the name of the case to which the criminal allegations pertained, State V. Bonds, That case was over three years old, amid numerous trials in which Bernier had testified, and was not identifiable by the anonymous letter in any way. Pardue advised that he never confirmed whether or not Bernier had been the subject of an internal investigation regarding the Bonds matter, despite that being easily ascertainable from the man that hired Pardue, former Chief Dubois. Pardue stated that as a Chief (his previous position in law enforcement) he would never have investigated an anonymous complaint. What Pardue said in the presence of three individuals directly contradicts what Dubois told Bernier in front of Lt, Newport. Bernier was able to view, but not obtain, the motion filed by Campbell under seal. The motion specifically referred to the Aaron Bonds case, information which was not included in the anonymous letter. Following the Banks case, Bernier spoke with Campbell. Although Campbell would not divulge the source of the information, she confirmed that she did recall who it was, and that it was now circulating in legal circles, to include the Bonds case name. She stated that the information was brought to her attention the same week she filed the motion with the court, and several days after an article about the Banks case had been in the Portsmouth Herald. Given that the current administration of the Portsmouth Police Department had no knowledge of the pending IA, it is suspect how the New Hampshire Public Defender's Office was made aware of the same, absent someone who had initiated or been involved in the IA initiation having notified them, Pardue confirmed that the only two people who knew about the IA were himself and DuBois, and that DuBois provided him with the specific case name of State v. Bonds, 1The anonymous letter was founded in half truths available only to internal personnel of the Portsmouth Police Department. That letter misrepresented information and was then disseminated to the press, the City Council, and the Commission. The dilatory decision to pursue the IA by the prior administration, lead by Dubois, and the lengthy delay in the investigation conducted by Pardue lead to the further dissemination of this false information to the County Attorney's Office, Judge Wageling and the Public Defender’s Office. The information was erroneous and a deliberate attempt to discredit Bernier as a police officer. The delay of bringing the IA, and the conducting of the IA itself, harmed Bernier emotionally and impacted her reputation and career as well as almost derailing a serial rape case. The IA investigation is still technically “open” despite being “cleared” by the administration after consultation with Pardue in order to answer the Court's inquiry in Banks. It has been five months, a time frame far outlasting those for far more complex IAs. Pardue recognized that as Chief, he would never have pursued anonymous allegations. He indicated during Bernier’s interview that his investigation included reviewing only the relevant parts of the transcripts, trying to contact one witness from the Bonds case, and speaking with Bernier. He acknowledged the potential damage to Bernier’s reputation, should such information be released. Ultimately, under pressure from the Banks court, Pardue issued a letter on February 5, 2016 clearing Bernier of any wrongdoing. However no formal report has been forthcoming to close this matter and clear the ongoing stress and turmoil that this has caused professionally and personally. Bernier has requested investigations by the Portsmouth Police Department into, among other things; DuBois for dissemination of personnel information, possible criminal defamation, dissemination of confidential information, Pardue withholding the final report regarding the IA, and release of an ongoing IA to the public, specifically the defense bar. No action has been taken at this time, nor has the Department informed Bernier what remedial steps would be taken. DEMAND Bernier has been the target of ongoing and prolonged discrimination and retaliation. This systemic behavior was accelerated by the prior administration before their departure. The recent IA was withheld until such time as it would spill well beyond their departure. The delay in resolving this treatment of Detective Bernier first, by Pardue is unacceptable and unjustifiable, He has contributed in the perpetuation of the retaliatory practices of the prior Chief and Deputy Chief. The Department's unwillingness to investigate these matters and demand Pardue’s report are tacitly condoning this continuing course of conduct. The desire of the Portsmouth Police Department to only look forward and not back, is negligent and in complete disregard for a highly respected and loyal employee such as Bernier, her reputation and her emotional well-being. 2Bernier has been internally investigated at the behest of the administration for things such as moving a stack of papers, wearing Teva sandals on an arrest, and for having a messy desk. Bernier's work schedule was altered in 2009 such that she hari to scheduling, flexibility, internal investigations and caseload expectation. She hes consistently had one of the biggest caseloads of the agency over years, with very high Profile cases. Promotional opportunities were not an option for years, Bernier intended {0 80 through the most recent promotional process for a sergeant’s position, however that process would have fallen during a time when this baseless, unjustifiable IA was being protracted for no reason. Currently, as a result of the systematic discrimination and retaliatory practices of the Portsmouth Police Department administration, Bernier’s professional credibility and ‘eputation has been impacted with the release of the information to the Public Defenders Office, the Rockingham County Attorney’ Office and at least one judge in Rockingham County. This would not have occurred had the administration wot retaliated by hiring a conflicted investigator to look into something which was a patent credibility smear. Bemier is anticipating litigation with causes of action including, but not limited {0% discrimination, retaliatory practices under Whistleblower's statutory protections, 98- F violations, defamation, breach of good faith, negligent training, supervision and retention, harassment, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional duress, In an effort to resolve these matters before parties incur substantial litigation cost in excess of damages, Bernier will consider pre-suit discussions and/or mediation. Bernier ig seeking compensation for this ongoing conduct in the amount of $975,000.00. Please tact below counsel within three weeks to schedule mediation. Otherwise, we will be B