A New York Police Department (NYPD) captain has been accused in a lawsuit of turning his unit into a boys' club and turning officers against a female colleague who rejected his advances. Captain Amanjeet Sandhu allegedly acted with malice toward Officer Maria Delacruz after she objected to his "relentless raunchy advances" sent via messages, and encouraged others to do the same, according to the suit.
Allegations of Unwanted Advances
Delacruz claims her manager "declared his love" for her and "expressed his desire to become her lover rather than remain her supervisor," but she was not interested. She said she initially kept quiet about the harassment out of fear of repercussions before finally acting, and has now filed a lawsuit over what she calls repeated harassment while serving as an NYPD officer.
Delacruz filed the lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday. "I didn't feel like there was anyone I could go to," the mother of an eight-year-old son told the New York Post.
Details of the Harassment
Sandhu took over her command in January 2023, and by March was regularly assigning Delacruz to be his driver and work with him, she claimed. She said he "increasingly directed sexually explicit comments toward her," commenting on her "breasts, buttocks, face, eyes and body, including referring to her as a Latina with large buttocks and making remarks about her 'booty'."
"If I was your man, I would slap that ass all the time," he allegedly said to her, according to the suit filed by lawyer Eric Sanders. "Eventually, Delacruz spent entire tours in Sandhu's office or accompanying him in his departmental vehicle." When she stood up to leave his office, he would make comments including, "That a** is huge." He would also suggest she remove her bulletproof vest and then stare at her breasts and bite his lip creepily when she talked to him, the suit alleges, and said he had naughty sex dreams about her.
Incident at Christmas Party and Aftermath
On another occasion in 2023, Sandhu allegedly instructed her to accompany him on a drive and attempted "to kiss her against her wishes," the suit states. "Delacruz immediately pulled away and pushed him back, declaring 'No, you are married. Are you crazy?'" according to the suit.
At the 2023 Patrol Borough Midtown South Christmas party at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle, Sandhu grabbed her left arm and pulled her toward him, she alleges. "You're coming with me tonight," he said, insisting they should leave together and sleep together, according to the lawsuit. She refused and told him she was going home with her friend, but he continued gripping her arm painfully, Delacruz alleges.
She said the situation became so bad that her co-workers believed she was sleeping with him, leading them to be angry toward her. She was allowed to transfer away from the unit. In September 2024, after her transfer, he sent her a disappearing WhatsApp message featuring a pornographic video, according to the suit.
The NYPD has not been served with the Delacruz lawsuit yet and will respond to it when they receive it, a spokesman said.
