Jury agrees BPD discriminated against and harassed a woman detective; awards her $2 million

A federal jury yesterday awarded Donna Gavin, a lieutenant in the Boston Police Department, $2 million in lost wages and damages after agreeing that not only did her superior discriminate against her because of her gender, he retaliated against her after she filed a complaint with the state.

Gavin, also a detective, who led the BPD human trafficking unit for almost a decade, had charged that Capt. Mark Hayes created a hostile work environment and actively worked to block her from becoming part of the BPD command staff, especially after she complained to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Following a trial in US District Court in Boston, a jury yesterday answered "yes" to six questions posed by the judge, on whether Gavin proved "by a preponderance of the evidence" that both the city and Hayes discriminated against her, forced her to work in a hostile environment and retaliated against her for filing a complaint.

The jury then set dollar amounts for each of the specific violations, including $1 million for emotional distress and damage to her reputation and $940,000 in cumulative lost wages because she was blocked from advancing in the ranks. The remainder was for $60,000 in lost overtime, sick leave and vacation the jury agreed she had lost.

The city has yet to file an appeal.