Lawsuit claims officer accused of sending menacing textual content messages to herself had ‘sexual relationship’ with chief – Regulation Officer

OSSINING, N.Y. – Officer Emily Hirshowitz with the Ossining Police Division complained for months about receiving alarming textual content messages from her colleagues. Nevertheless, investigators alleged she’d been the one sending all of them alongside. She was subsequently arrested and charged in June with three counts of first-degree submitting a false instrument, a felony, and 4 counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, Law Officer previously reported.

Now, a lawsuit filed by two former officers — Louis Rinaldi and Andrea Zambrano — claims Hirshowitz was concerned in a sexual relationship with Ossining Village Police Chief Kevin Sylvester. She “was having an ongoing sexual relationship” with the highest cop, the lawsuit claims, amongst different allegations, the New York Post reported.

Sylvester allegedly filed a grievance with the Westchester District Legal professional’s Workplace in August 2022 over the threatening textual content messages Hirshowitz was purportedly receiving on her cellphone. He positioned the blame on one of many former officers now suing the village, the lawsuit claims.

“Sylvester … performed quite a few interviews of law enforcement officials, instantly asking every officer in the event that they have been conscious the Officer [Louis] Rinaldi was sending the texts to Officer Emily Hirshowitz,” the lawsuit asserts.

Officer Emily Hirshowitz was arrested and charged final month with a number of crimes associated to the textual content message scandal. (Ossining Police Division)

Sylvester blamed Rinaldi “regardless of having no proof to help his accusations,” in line with the lawsuit, which was filed by Rinaldi and Zambrano earlier this month. Within the civil motion, they accuse Sylvester of unfairly forcing each of them to resign from their positions along with interfering of their need to land different legislation enforcement employment.

In keeping with the lawsuit, Sylvester allegedly doled out a lighter punishment in comparison with self-discipline he beforehand imposed on the 2 plaintiffs tied to departmental prices, regardless of the legal prices filed in opposition to Hirshowitz displaying messages have been tied to her.

“Sylvester advised [village officials] that Hirshowitz had been arrange by Plaintiffs Rinaldi and Zambrano and personally beneficial she not be suspended with out pay,” the lawsuit claims.

Though Hirshowitz was suspended, she allegedly didn’t forfeit pay, in line with claims made by the plaintiffs, who say they have been suspended with out pay after going through inner departmental prices by Sylvester in recent times.

Rinaldi resigned in Could and Zambrano resigned in July 2020.

The village’s lawyer, Brian Sokoloff, referred to the accusations within the lawsuit as “ludicrous.”

“Some (claims) are so ludicrous that you just don’t dignify them with a denial,” Sokoloff advised The Journal News. 

“It seems to me to be a lawsuit out of spite,” Sokoloff added. “Allegations are simple and speak is affordable.”

Regulation Officer article, July 3, 2023

OSSINING, N.Y. – A police officer within the State of New York was arrested after she reportedly despatched herself menacing textual content messages after which blamed colleagues, in line with the Westchester District Legal professional’s Workplace.

Officer Emily Hirshowitz with the Ossining Police Division complained for months about receiving alarming textual content messages from her colleagues. She was taken into custody after investigators alleged she’d been the one sending all of them alongside. Final Wednesday she was charged with three counts of first-degree submitting a false instrument, a felony, and 4 counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, in line with the Westchester Journal News.

The sequence of occasions started in Could of 2022 when Hirshowitz filed a report with the DA’s workplace, saying she was receiving nameless threatening textual content messages from a number of numbers. She claimed that “a fellow police officer or a number of law enforcement officials at my division are concerned,” in line with courtroom paperwork obtained by the outlet, Yahoo News reported.

Emily Hirshowitz was charged on the Westchester District Legal professional’s Workplace on Wednesday with falsely reporting an incident. (Ossining Police Division – Fb)

Hirshowitz persistently pursued her allegations in opposition to fellow officers in July after which once more in August when she gave investigators screenshots displaying lengthy expletive-filled messages urging her to commit suicide and calling her “ineffective,” a “dumb [expletive],” and a “reject,” the New York Post reported.

Regulation enforcement officers turned alarmed by the alleged messages as a result of “more and more threatening content material.” Consequently, in addition they reached out to the district legal professional’s workplace to research additional.

Nevertheless, on August 12, Hirshowitz mentioned she needed to drop the grievance.

However, Chief Kevin Sylvester was understandably involved, and referred to as for a department-wide assembly to debate the alleged disturbing messages.

(Ossining Police Division – Fb)

Because the inquiry unfolded, investigators started to imagine the threatening messages have been really produced by Hirshowitz. In October they obtained a search warrant for her cellphone data and different digital accounts.

The proof rapidly pointed to Hirshowitz because the wrongdoer to her personal menacing messages as they derived from a number of of her accounts. Therefore, investigators concluded she had possible despatched them to herself, in line with prosecutors.

Hirshowitz was suspended with pay as soon as she was formally charged with the crimes, the Post reported.

Nevertheless, there was additionally one other wrinkle within the investigation that seems unclear. The legal grievance famous that any person identified to the prosecutor’s workplace appeared to have despatched three of the textual content messages, though the individual was not recognized.

Louis Rinaldi resigned from the Ossining Police Division within the spring concerning a separate disciplinary matter. Rinaldi’s title has come up as a potential confederate to Hirshowitz.

Hirshowitz has been employed by the Ossining Police Division since 2016. She beforehand served for 2 years in New Rochelle, in line with Fox News.

“There’s lots of thriller and confusion surrounding the allegations on this case and we’ll consider as we be taught extra,” mentioned her legal professional, Paul DerOhannesian.

Hirshowitz was launched from custody following her arrest final week and is scheduled to look in White Plains Metropolis Court docket on July 12, in line with DerOhannesian.