A New York state trooper who testified that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed her filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming Cuomo and his top aide ‘violated federal, state, and civil laws’ in an attempt to cover up the alleged harassment.
The woman, who is named as Trooper 1 in the lawsuit filed in Manhattan, is seeking damages against Cuomo, his former aide Melissa DeRosa and New York State Police for ‘severe mental anguish and emotional distress.’
The trooper claims Cuomo tried to kiss her, steered conversations towards sex, asked her to help find him a girlfriend, and once asked ‘why don’t you wear a dress?’
The suit also claims that Cuomo’s top aide DeRosa covered up the governor’s behavior by giving misleading statements to a reporter from The Albany Times Union.
When the reporter asked about how the trooper was transferred to the governor’s security detail, DeRosa ‘yelled at the editor of The Times Union and accused him of being sexist for even making the inquiry,’ the suit states.
Cuomo resigned in August, days after an independent probe found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.
He has denied intentionally mistreating any of the women but said he would step down in order to avoid subjecting the state to months of turmoil.
Those accusers included the unnamed state trooper, who was on his security detail and said he allegedly subjected her to sexual remarks and on occasion ran his hand or fingers across her stomach and her back.
‘As with his other victims, the governor used his physical proximity to Trooper 1 to touch her inappropriately,’ the lawsuit alleged.
‘He commented on her appearance (‘why don’t you wear a dress?); wanted to kiss her (‘(c)an I kiss you?’); asked her to find him a girlfriend who could ‘handle pain;’ and steered their conversations towards sex (‘(w)hy would you want to get married? … your sex drive goes down’),’ the suit said.
A New York state trooper who testified that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right) sexually harassed her filed a lawsuit Thursday and asked a federal court to declare that Cuomo and his top aide, Melissa DeRosa (left) and state police violated her civil rights
The complaint filed on Thursday states that Trooper 1, who was part of Cuomo’s security detail in September 2019, accompanied the governor to the Belmont racetrack, where she says ‘she felt violated as the Governor intentionally touched her in intimate locations between her breasts and vagina.’
As Trooper 1 walked ahead of the governor to hold the door open for him, he placed the palm of his hand on her belly button and slid it across her waist to her right hip, where her gun was holstered,’ the complaints alleges.
The trooper said that days later, Cuomo asked her about her relationship status, ‘clearly prompted by the now-public fact that he had broken up with his girlfriend’ and asked for the trooper’s ad.’
The complaint also alleges that on another occasion, Cuomo ran ‘his finger down the center of my back of my spine, basically from the top of my neck, basically midway down with his pointer finger and just said, ‘Hey, you.’
Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said in a statement in December that an investigation found the allegations against Cuomo ‘credible, deeply troubling but not criminal under New York law.’
Several district attorneys in New York said they found Cuomo’s accusers ‘credible,’ but said the available evidence wasn’t strong enough to file criminal charges against him.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi blasted the trooper’s lawsuit Thursday.
‘Gov. Cuomo will fight every attempt at cheap cash extortions and is anxious to have the dirty politics stop – we look forward to justice in a court of law,’ Azzopardi said.
DeRosa’s attorney Paul Schectman said his client, the governor’s top aide, only interacted with the trooper to say ”hello and goodbye.”
‘It is not a viable case anywhere in America and is beyond frivolous,’ Schectman said.
A spokesperson for New York State Police didn’t immediately provide comment Thursday.
Cuomo has denied he ever intended to touch anyone inappropriately.
Sexual harassment accusations against Cuomo began to mount in early 2021.
He initially offered an apology for behavior with women that ‘may have been insensitive or too personal,’ and said some of his past remarks were ‘misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.’
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is followed by former Executive Secretary Melissa DeRosa, as they prepare to board a helicopter after Cuomo’s announced resignation in August 2021. Both Cuomo and DeRosa are being sued by a NYS trooper who said he groped her
