Dallas Police sergeant placed on leave, accused of stealing intimate photos from female officer's phone
DALLAS - Dallas Police placed a supervising officer on administrative leave for a privacy violation, and the Dallas Police Women's Association says it was after the officer took the phone of a female officer under his leadership.
DPD sergeant suspended
What we know:
Dallas Police Sgt. Daylon L. Grandberry received a 15-day suspension after the Dallas Police Department says he committed a privacy violation.
Grandberry would have been able to appeal his suspension, but Dallas Police officials say the matter has been resolved.
What we don't know:
We don't know the name of the female officer involved in the incident or when the incident occurred.
Dig deeper:
The Dallas Police Women's Association gave further details of the incident, saying Grandberry took a subordinate female officer's phone and sent "intimate" images to his own phone.
The DPWA alleges Grandberry memorized her phone's password and told the officer he would "download a game" onto her phone before accessing password-protected photos on the phone.
The female officer later noticed Grandberry was her last contact when she had not messaged him recently.
Grandberry allegedly sent himself the photos twice. He told investigators the access was accidental.
According to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records, Grandberry has been with the Dallas Police Department since 2008.
What they're saying:
The DPWA called Grandberry's 15-day suspension a "slap on the wrist to him and a slap in the face to every female officer in our department" and demanded "serious, tangible change" to the department.
"The Dallas Police Department’s handling of this, and other incidents, exhibits an appalling disregard for workplace ethics and fosters a toxic environment that devalues female officers. Female officers are often seen as expendable and are vulnerable to objectification and abuse by male supervisors without significant consequences. This culture not only undermines the trust and safety of female officers but also perpetuates a cycle of predatory behavior that is frequently ignored or brushed aside by the department. While the Women’s Association wants to see a rise in female recruit numbers, we cannot advocate for any woman to sign up for such abuse and hypocrisy," the statement continued.
Ofc. Jennifer Atherton
"It’s absurd. It’s ridiculous. The trust — there is no trust. That trust is broken," Officer Jennifer Atherton, the president of the Dallas Women's Police Association, told FOX 4's David Sentendrey.
Who can we trust if we can’t trust the department and the chief to protect us from this kind of abuse?" Atherton continued. "And it’s not just DPD. There is a culture. It is so engrained."
"The allegations in this matter are serious, and any conduct that undermines trust in the workplace or the professionalism expected of Dallas Police officers should be taken seriously," Dallas Police Association President Sean Pease said.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Police Women's Association.