NY state trooper sues Cuomo over alleged harassment

A New York state trooper who alleges that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) sexually harassed her on Thursday filed suit against him, the New York State Police and Cuomo’s former aide Melissa DeRosa, NBC News reports.

Referred to as Trooper 1 in the case, she claims that Cuomo touched her and spoke to her inappropriately, including one instance where he allegedly 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,’” according to NBC.

Cuomo resigned last year after a report from state Attorney General Letitia James (D) found that he had sexually harassed multiple women, including some in his office.

Along with using “his physical proximity to Trooper 1 to touch her inappropriately,” Cuomo is accused of commenting on the woman’s appearance and steering “their conversations towards sex.”

He allegedly made inappropriate comments to the woman such as requesting that she find him a girlfriend who could “handle pain.”

The trooper says she is experiencing “severe mental anguish and emotional distress” as a result of the incidents and is seeking damages.

According to the trooper’s lawsuit, DeRosa was “specifically involved in hiding the governor’s behavior.”

DeRosa denies the claim, with her lawyer telling NBC that her “only interaction with [the trooper] was to say ‘hello and goodbye.’ It is not a viable case anywhere in America and is beyond frivolous.”

Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesman, also denied the allegations, writing in a statement that five district attorneys have determined that no one broke the law in this case.

“If kissing someone on the cheek, patting someone on the back or stomach or waving hello at a public event on New Year’s Eve is actionable, then we are all in trouble,” said Azzopardi. “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.”

The trooper maintains her allegations of sexual harassment and says she will continue to pursue the lawsuit while remaining anonymous.

“Given the threats and victim-shaming that Trooper 1 has faced after she testified truthfully about being sexually harassed in the workplace by the former governor, she has made the decision to proceed with this lawsuit anonymously with the hope that she can vindicate her legal rights and move on with her life,” the trooper’s counsel Valdi Licul said, according to NBC.