A federal judge on Sept. 17 refused to dismiss a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Wayne County Sheriff Raphael “Ray” Washington that has raised new questions about an alleged pattern of troubling behavior by the top law enforcement official in Michigan’s most populous county.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Shalina Kumar keeps alive a civil lawsuit filed by former sheriff’s department official Regina Parks that has revealed at least four more women have complained about inappropriate behavior by Washington — including peeping in an ex-wife’s window and asking a woman to bend over and flash her underwear. The lawsuit also revealed how taxpayers have paid as much as $85,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
“We are very pleased with the ruling,” Parks’ lawyer, Deborah Gordon, told The Detroit News on Thursday…