Harassment Led to Love Triangle, Suit Says

WILMINGTON, Del. (CN) - A former administrative specialist for the Delaware State Police claims her work environment fell apart after she had an affair with a police captain, whose wife unsuccessfully pushed her to have a threesome.

Diana Miller sued Capt. John Laird's employer, the Delaware Department of Public Safety, in New Castle County Court, claiming the department has a history of condoning sexual harassment in the workplace.

Laird allegedly spent months seducing Miller, commenting on how she looked and telling her that he "wanted her." On one occasion, she claims he stopped by her house, grabbed her breasts and leaned in to kiss her. When she pulled back, he allegedly replied, "It's okay ... (my wife) knows that I am here ... we drove by your house before."

Before long, Laird's wife, Cissy, began calling her and suggesting they take a vacation together, the lawsuit claims. Cissy scheduled a trip to Cabo San Lucas, and said she was taking her husband to serve as "their protection."

When they arrived, Miller says she learned that Cissy had booked a room with a single king-sized bed, where all three were to sleep. Miller says she objected, but Cissy replied, "very adamantly, that this was "what HE wants."

"Throughout the trip, Cissy Laird dictated to Plaintiff what she was supposed to be doing next," the lawsuit claims. "She also stated that Plaintiff was not giving her husband enough attention and/or sex and that Plaintiff needed to be doing this."

At some point, the intended ménage a trios went sour, the suit claims, as Cissy grew jealous that Miller and her husband were having sex without including her.

They allegedly kept their distance for the rest of the trip, and the Lairds each warned Miller to keep her mouth shut about the situation.

Miller requested a transfer when she returned to work, claiming she could not work in "that type of environment." But she claims the rumors leaked to her new academy, and she was unable to clear her name.

The plaintiff's lawsuit targets the department's alleged tolerance of improper sexual relations between commanding officers and staff members, and senior officers' purported failure to protect her from Laird's sexual advances.

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