Law firm presents report on sexual harassment allegations in Hogsett administration

INDIANAPOLIS — The committee established to investigate Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration and its handling of sexual harassment allegations listened to an interim report from a law firm it hired to look into the claims.

Fisher Phillips, a law firm based out of Chicago, presented its interim report Wednesday night to the seven-member special investigative committee summarizing its investigation into the city’s current human resources structure.

What does the report say?

The purpose of the report was to launch an independent analysis of the city government’s current human resources systems and protocols for reporting instances of harassment.

The law firm examined investigatory reports and personnel information totaling over 850 pages worth of material. This included emails, text messages, investigation reports, and employee personnel files.

The interim report reviewed over 1,000 documents related to the complainants who filed the sexual harassment allegations. The report also highlighted the City Council’s anonymous reporting hotline and reporting system, which was rolled out in October of last year.

As part of their investigation, the law firm outlined interviews that it conducted with the City-County’s Office of Corporation Counsel Chief and Human Resources Director.

The law firm also interviewed one of the “known complainants” and indicated that they would be pursuing a follow-up interview. The law firm said it intends to interview the individuals facing these allegations and Mayor Hogsett as it prepares its final report.

The report also compared the City-County’s harassment reporting procedures to cities and counties around the country that shared “structural characteristics” with Marion County and the City of Indianapolis.

A more comprehensive analysis of the comparisons between the reporting and investigatory tools will be included in the final report.

“The goal of this report is to provide a high-level summary of investigatory work performed since our retention in this matter while protecting the integrity of the investigation and confidentiality of third parties,” the report concluded. “We intend to provide a final report containing a detailed explanation of our investigation and comprehensive policy recommendations at the conclusion of our investigation.”

Why was the committee formed?

The committee was formed after the council voted to conduct a thorough investigation into Hogsett’s handling of an investigation into one of his former aides, Thomas Cook, who was accused of sexual harassment and coercing a former city employee, Caroline Ellert, and a prior member of the mayor’s campaign team, Lauren Roberts.

The committee, which consists of five Democrats and two Republicans, held its first meeting on Oct. 1, 2024, where it addressed the city’s human resources system as part of a wider effort to overhaul its reporting systems so employees can report anonymous complaints.

Councilors Andy Nielsen, Crista Carlino, Jessica McCormick, Kristin Jones and Rena Allen represent the Democrats on the committee while the Republicans are represented by Minority Leader Brian Mowery and Councilor Josh Bain.

According to previous reports, Cook was the center of three separate sanctions between October 2017 and October 2023.

Following the sanctions, Cook was prohibited from engaging in any romantic relationships with his co-workers. Cook resigned shortly after in December 2020 after being found to have reportedly violated a 2017 order to not be in a romantic relationship with any of his subordinates.

The ensuing investigation also resulted in another top staffer being fired in early September following allegations of “inappropriate sexual misconduct.”