Actuate CEO Dismisses Advisor's Police Resignation Issues as "Petty and Irrelevant"

Actuate hired former Philadelphia Police Commissioner who resigned after being sued over retaliation allegations from a subordinate, 19 years younger than him, with whom he had an affair, and won a million-dollar judgment against the department over discrimination and harassment.

Despite Actuate CEO's admitting he did not know about this public news until IPVM informed him, he later dismissed this as "petty and irrelevant".

In this report, IPVM examines Actuate CEO Sonny Tai's responses and the specific allegations against former police commissioner Richard Ross, including the mishandling of race and gender discrimination, the inaction toward harassment allegations, and retaliation claims.

IPVM previously raised concerns over Actuate's Public Safety Advisory Board, including the lawsuit against former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross that resulted in his resignation.

Actuate markets its board as "composed of highly respected law enforcement leaders" that "supports the mission of protecting and safeguarding the communities".

Ross Admits to "Romantic Relationship" with Subordinate

According to the 61-page Plaintiffs’ Statement of Undisputed Material Facts, commissioner Ross admitted to having extra-marital intercourse with a subordinate while on duty:

The plaintiff, then officer Audra McCowan, alleges that she had an affair with Ross that lasted from 2009 to 2011 (starting when McCowan was ~26 and Ross was ~45). Ross admitted to being in a "consensual romantic relationship" though he says he "has no recollection" of the "exact timing" (see here the entire list of questions submitted to Ross for questioning):

The plaintiff submitted thirty-one questions regarding the details of Ross's affair with McCowan from the location of their rendezvous to the gifts they exchanged.

The defense objected to the admission of every single one of these questions.

The plaintiff submitted nine questions regarding personal communication methods between Ross and McCown, noting that Ross instructed McCowan to use her personal phone number to contact him.

The plaintiff submitted 16 questions about the aftermath of the relationship. The questions include references to Ross being jealous of McCowan's new relationship and possible intentions to "ruin her relationship":

Ross's Defense

Ross defended himself by stating that while he did have an extra-marital relationship with McCowan, he does not admit that McCowan was a subordinate and claims that she was not in his direct chain of command:

Ross claimed that he had no recollection of many specific events regarding their relationship:

Ross also stated that his affair with the plaintiff was not relevant to the issue of whether he was guilty of discriminating against the plaintiffs based on race:

Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Allegations

The filing alleges that beginning in 2014, Plaintiff Audra McCowan and Plaintiff Jennifer Allen, two police officers in Ross's department, received unwanted sexual advances and vulgar comments from colleagues.

The two police officers also alleged sex- and race-based discrimination, which entailed being denied career-advancing training and job assignments after filing formal complaints.

Ross Dismisses Sexual Harassment Allegations

In February 2019, Plaintiff McCowan informed the commissioner that she had been "experiencing sexual harassment and a hostile work environment", and that she had been "punished for reporting" them, the claim alleges.

The commissioner allegedly responded "So why don't you just order his dumb ass to go sit down and get out of your face 'Officer'":

In court, Ross testified that while he might have said something to that effect, he underscored the fact that the plaintiff shouldn't "be a perpetual victim":

When the plaintiff asked Ross to "think about how [he] would feel if it was [his] daughter" experiencing these issues, Ross didn't respond to her statement, according to the claim.

During the exchange, Ross also allegedly stated that "he was going to "school" Ms. McCowan on sexual harassment."

Ross stated that he did not remember making that comment:

Ross contends that while he did have a conversation with McCowan about these allegations, he thought he and McCowan were "discussing the matter, as friends." (See the full 175-page Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendants’ “Statement of Undisputed Facts.”)

Retaliation for Former Affair

The filing also alleges that Ross did not act accordingly because he was upset with McCowan and "was getting in the way of redressing her complaints in retribution for her breaking off their two-year affair."

Ross Allows Retaliation to Continue

Additionally, Ross allowed retaliation against McCowan to continue, the complaint alleges.

In March 2019, Plaintiff McCowan was relegated to police radio, an assignment widely perceived as a "punishment" task within the police department. McCowan allegedly texts Ross about the re-assignment, stating "You and I both know this is a punishment":

McCowan wrote a hardship memo detailing her grievances with the assignment change and requesting to be placed back on her previous work schedule. In a meeting between Commissioner Ross, 1st Deputy Patterson, and Deputy Coulter, the hardship memo was disapproved. According to McCowan's colleague, the decision to disapprove the memo was allegedly "all coming from Commissioner Ross" who thought that McCowan was "making all this up."

McCowan was not granted a shift change as she requested.

Ross "Perpetual Victim" Warning

During the trial, Ross states multiple times that McCowan should not have allowed herself to "set up the perception of being a perpetual victim."

Ross further asserts that had McCowan not told multiple people of her allegations, her grievances would have been "resolved in a way that was acceptable to everyone."

Plaintiffs Win Lawsuit Against City, Charges Against Ross Dropped

The trial ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who won $1 million in the lawsuit against the commissioner and the city.

While Ross was later dropped from the suit, the attorney for the victims who won the judgment made clear that they still believe Ross was culpable and that it was done strategically in the suit, in a statement from Ian M. Bryson to IPVM:

We made a strategic decision to drop the charges against all of the individually named defendants, including former commissioner Ross, and to go against the city as the sole defendant trial. I still called Ross as a witness at the trial and cross examined him. The decision to dismiss him as a defendant had nothing to do with his culpability. At the end of the trial, the jury sided with my clients and awarded damages in the amount of $1 million. [emphasis added]

Actuate's Previous Response

When IPVM first brought this lawsuit up to Actuate CEO Sonny Tai last month, he stated that he "was not aware of this at all" and that Actuate will be "reevaluating the relationship."

On December 14, 2022, Tai responded to IPVM John Honovich's inquiry saying that he thought IPVM's article was "petty and irrelevant" so he "decided to do nothing about it," in the comments section of a LinkedIn post:

Actuate still shows Ross in his official police portrait despite his resignation more than 3 years ago. Actuate's CEO explained that "it’s the photo that Rich [Ross] gave us for our website."