Retired Windsor police officer says she wants justice after homophobic comment from fire official
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing language.
Retired Windsor, Ont., police Staff Sgt. Maureen Rudall says it's been eight years since she experienced homophobia at the hands of a high-ranking city fire official. And her case is still making its way through the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO).
During a private meeting among Windsor Fire and Rescue Services employees back in 2015, Andrea DeJong, a Windsor fire deputy chief at the time, used the word "dyke" to describe Rudall, who was the first openly gay Windsor police officer.
"It was really awful," said Rudall, recalling how she felt when she heard about this.
Some fire employees who heard the comments subsequently informed Rudall.
She says she'd never met DeJong at that point. The two women did communicate via email since because both police and fire offer educational programming at the Safety Village.
Rudall says in her human rights complaint that DeJong also made "many belittling comments, degrading comments" about her sexuality, her stature and her wife at the time.
Watch Maureen Rudall talk about how she reacted to the comment:
"I was shocked that it was the deputy of fire that would make a comment like that. I really was in disbelief. I thought this can't be, not in this day and age that someone in that position of authority would use those kind of comments."
The city conducted its own investigation after Rudall filed a complaint. But Rudall says she wasn't satisfied with how it was handled or the recommendations released in 2016.
As a consequence for the slur, DeJong was suspended for two weeks, and sent Rudall an apology letter. There was also a suggestion that DeJong get sensitivity training.
In the subsequent apology letter, which Rudall shared with CBC News, DeJong said "whether you're aware of this or not, many of my closest friends are lesbians and in our normal interchanges the term 'dyke' is frequently used."
"I am sorry about that, as it was never my intention to insult anybody," DeJong said in that letter.
"I was angry at the letter that was sent to me that basically only said I'm sorry you were offended," said Rudall.
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