Former HUPD Lieutenant Sues Harvard, Police Chief For Age Discrimination

A former Harvard University Police Department officer is suing the University for “discrimination based on age,” according to a lawsuit filed in federal court last week.

Robert P. Harrington, a former HUPD lieutenant, sued Harvard, HUPD Chief Victor A. Clay, and a Title IX coordinator at the Office of General Counsel for allegedly passing him over for a promotion to captain based on his age.

Harrington was hired as an HUPD lieutenant in 2013 under former HUPD Chief Francis D. “Bud” Riley after a 31-year career with the Boston Police Department, according to the suit.

Harrington interviewed in 2022 for one of four new captain positions created by Clay, who became chief in 2021, and was rejected in favor of “four younger, less qualified, less experienced candidates,” according to the complaint.

“Harvard and Chief Clay acted with discriminatory animus and bias against Harrington because of his age,” the complaint read.

A University spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. A lawyer for Harrington did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.

The complaint addresses the lower levels of experience held by the four appointed captains as compared to Harrington, who served as a superintendent for BPD for about seven years. Only one of the four captains appointed had held the rank of lieutenant prior to their promotion. The suit further alleges that two of the promoted captains had no prior municipal law enforcement experience.

The complaint also alleges that Clay and the University did not promote Harrington in retaliation after he cooperated with an internal investigation into a separate age discrimination complaint against the police chief, filed in January 2022 by former HUPD deputy chief Kevin W. Regan.

Harrington “began to notice and experience negative treatment” from Clay since the chief’s arrival in the summer of 2021, the suit states.

Harrington was assigned to supervise HUPD’s Dignitary Protection Unit in 2019, where he accompanied Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow on domestic and international trips multiple times.

The lawsuit alleges that Clay told Harrington that he was being removed from the DPU “in a corridor conversation, with no warning or explanation” in September 2021, and that Harrington was stripped of “all dignitary protection responsibilities” and barred from traveling with the University President later that month.

“Throughout the fall of 2021, Chief Clay continued to exclude Harrington from decisions involving his unit,” the complaint states.

Harrington was placed on administrative leave in November 2021 while HUPD investigated his “alleged involvement in a sick leave request by a subordinate officer,” the suit continues. Less than a month later, while Harrington was still on leave, Clay announced a departmental restructuring that included creating the four new captain positions that Harrington applied for while he was on leave.

According to the lawsuit, Harrington was interviewed for the position by Clay and Title IX coordinator Maria Mejia when he returned to duty in March 2022. Mejia called Harrington one day later to inform him that he had not been selected for the position.

A HUPD spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit or its allegations.

The current status of Harrington’s employment at Harvard is unclear, and he has not appeared on the department’s directory since 2021. A University spokesperson declined to comment on the circumstances around Harrington’s departure.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.