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Brookline fires new police chief over allegations he sexually harassed women at work

Ashley Gonzalez was sworn in as police chief on June 1, and put on paid leave after the allegations surfaced a month later.

Former Brookline Police Chief Ashley Gonzalez. Town of Brookline

October 15, 2022

Brookline’s new chief of police was fired Friday just five months into the job after multiple sexual harassment allegations against female employees came to light.

The Brookline Select Board unanimously voted to dismiss Ashley Gonzalez from the position, the town announced Friday, after an independent investigation uncovered several alleged instances of inappropriate conduct with female colleagues.

“Gonzalez was determined to have violated the town’s policy against discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, and Brookline police department rules and regulations against conduct unbecoming a police officer on multiple occasions and with several employees,” town officials said in a press release.

According to an internal review, conducted by Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting (CIC), Gonzalez allegedly made several sexually-suggestive comments to female employees, as well as on social media. The alleged harassment violated the town’s policy against discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, and created a hostile work environment, the review found.

In CIC’s report to the Select Board, the firm recommended Gonzalez’s firing after allegedly finding “multiple admitted, corroborated and sustained allegations of sexual harassment.”

Gonzalez was sworn in as police chief on June 1; the allegations came to light between July 19 and July 29, when the town’s human resources department received four emails detailing the harassing statements. He was put on paid administrative leave on Aug. 5.

“We have a strict zero-tolerance policy against discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, and I want to thank the team from Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting for a thorough review of these incidents,” Select Board Chair Heather Hamilton said in a statement.

Gonzalez was appointed to the position of chief in April after a 30-year career in law enforcement. He previously served in the Norwalk, Connecticut, Police Department and worked as chief at an independent school district police department in Austin, Texas.

Jennifer Paster is currently serving as Brookline Police Department’s acting chief.