A veteran police captain has filed a lawsuit against the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for allegedly demoting him and subjecting him to harassment for taking parental leave.
In a 16-page lawsuit, Capt. Pau Hrebenak said he applied for paid parental leave on top of time off through the Family Medical Leave Act. The request was approved by the new assistant chief, Andre Wright.
Hrebenak alleged that Wright had also told him that his position in the School Safety Division would be filled by another captain during his leave but that he would have his job back upon his return, per The Washington Post.
Police Captain Demoted for Taking Parental Leave
When Hrebenak returned in January 2024, he expected to work again in the school safety division, which had a relatively stable schedule from Monday through Friday. This allowed him to work without exacerbating his Crohn's Disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. The disease can flare up and worsen at night.
However, he was reassigned as a Watch Commander, which required him to work an "undesirable midnight shift" from 8:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
The lawsuit noted that the Watch Commander position is typically given to lieutenants or newly promoted captains and not to more senior captains like Hrebenak, who has been with the department for 18 years, according to the Washington Blade.
"Plaintiff's removal as Director of MPD's School Safety Division was a targeted, premeditated punishment for taking statutorily protected leave as a gay man," the lawsuit argued. "There was no operational need by MPD to remove Plaintiff as Director of MPD's School Safety Division, a position in which plaintiff very successfully served for years."
Hrebenak's team believes Wright made the decision to reassign him. They also believe the new assistant chief received counseling from other people not to follow through with plans to reassign Hrebenak.
What Are They Seeking From the Lawsuit?
Hrebenak is now seeking more than $4.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages and a reinstatement as the director of the Division of School Safety or a reassignment to another position with similar dayshift hours.
