COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Newly released documents show Cocoa Beach’s police chief on leave since February had been accused by several employees of bullying, abusive behavior and possible sexual harassment.
Scott Rosenfeld has been on paid administrative leave for over three months, after an employee lodged a complaint against him to Cocoa Beach City Manager Robin Hayes, prompting an internal investigation.
According to reports released to News 6 on Thursday, multiple employees claimed Rosenfeld, who has been with the agency for about 23 years, fostered a hostile work environment in many ways, including by using slurs, making offensive comments and harassing employees.
In interviews, employees, two of whom have worked with the police chief for over 15 years, said he has made various inappropriate comments, including calling an employee “a whore in a bikini on Instagram” and “sexy when (she’s) mad,” saying he was “hot on” and “falling in love” with another and using body shaming and anti-gay slurs against others.
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Employees also claim Rosenfeld has shown them images of a naked porn star and manipulated the direction of interviews to “intimidate and coerce.” Additionally, they said he is regularly loud and disruptive, according to the documents.
Documents show multiple employees did not report his behavior or any incidents previously for fear of being fired.
During the internal investigation, city officials also interviewed Rosenfeld, who they said was “cordial and professional.” According to the report, the police chief denied most of the claims submitted against him and “couldn’t understand what was happening (as) he was just doing his job.”
“I‘m loud. My life is police and Cocoa Beach. We will always have disgruntled employees trying to take the boss down,” said Rosenfeld, when confronted about his behavior.
He also said he “(talks) with candor” but apologized for offending and making employees uncomfortable. He added in the interview he has no problem working on his characteristics.
The city’s investigation concluded that Rosenfeld’s “loud, distracting and unprofessional conduct may be severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.”
The report went on to show city officials “did not find support for a claim of sexual harassment” because the police chief stopped making sexual and misogynistic comments once employees approached him about it.
The report continues that there is no evidence to support the police chief influenced interviews as the comments were “too general” and other employees said Rosenfeld coached them to be honest during interviews.
Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik told News 6 on Thursday that Rosenfeld is still on leave following the investigation.
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City of Cocoa Beach Summary by Sam Dunne on Scribd
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