Days before his phone was seized in the midst of a federal investigation, now former Police Commissioner Edward Caban allowed an NYPD captain found to have repeatedly sexually harassed a subordinate over 18 months to keep his job.
Caban overruled a trial commissioner’s recommendation to fire Capt. Antonio Pagan and instead ruled on Aug. 30 that Pagan should lose 60 vacation days for the alleged harassment, a copy of the decision states.
During a period spanning 2020 and 2021, Pagan was assigned to the NYPD’s 911 call center in the Bronx where he oversaw his accuser Huda Ahmad, a civilian communications technician in the office.
In a case that included 750 pages of text messages between the two and recordings secretly made by Ahmad, the three-day administrative trial in June turned on the question of whether Pagan used his position to coerce Ahmad or if she manipulated Pagan to her advantage as the defense maintained.
NYPD
On July 29, Trial Commissioner Jeff Adler found Pagan guilty, ruling the captain had repeatedly rubbed Ahmad’s hands, asked her for dates and asked her to sit on his lap in exchange for better hours, the decision states.
Pagan also asked her to send photos of herself in exchange for days off, including photos in a Hijab and in the shower. Ahmad sent the photos.
“These were not isolated incidents; rather, they were part of an extensive course of conduct that created a hostile work environment,” Adler wrote in his decision.
But in deciding to allow Pagan to keep his job, Caban wrote, “I have determined that while a severe penalty is warranted for the misconduct, separation from the department is not. It is undisputed that Capt. Pagan engaged in inappropriate behavior with a subordinate.”
On Sept. 4, Caban’s home was raided as part of a federal probe into whether his brother James used the family connection to bolster his security business. Caban resigned on Sept. 12.
Ahmad filed a lawsuit Nov. 18 in state court after her suit was voluntarily withdrawn in federal court, records show. No responses have been filed in that action.
Her lawyer John Scola said Caban’s decision “sends a troubling message to the NYPD workforce.”
“It signals that the internal disciplinary process and the protection of women employees are subordinate to the ‘good old boys’ network that dominates the department,” he said.
But Louis LaPietra, Pagan’s lawyer, alleged Ahmad concocted the harassment allegations to get better assignments and possibly win a lucrative city settlement via her lawsuit
“She flattered him, toyed with him, got him nice and comfortable to the point that he would say something stupid and give her something that she can secretly videotape and then play the good ol’ NYPD lotto game by filing a lawsuit, which is exactly what she did,” LaPietra said during the trial, the transcript shows.
NYPD Communication Tech Monique Brown, now retired, testified she saw Ahmad, then using her married name of Bowman, blow a kiss to Pagan in the office, but Ahmad never complained to her about Pagan.
“I always [saw] her in his office. I would see her there just all time, almost way too much,” she said. “I warned him, I felt like she might be trying to take [advantage] of him.
Pagan was transferred from the 911 call center to Brooklyn courts on Oct. 11, NYPD records show. He submitted papers to retire in October and is currently on terminal leave, a department spokesperson said.
The Pagan decision was one of several Caban made in the final two months of his tenure to downgrade or overturn disciplinary recommendations.
The News previously highlighted the case of Detective Delare Rathour who was found guilty of violating department rules after two domestic violence arrests.
The trial commissioner in that case recommended termination, but on June 18, Caban instead slapped Rathour with the loss of 35 vacation days. The decision was not publicly disclosed until August.
Caban also gave a pass a week before he resigned to Sgt. Bilal Ates who body slammed a protester back in 2020 during a George Floyd protest, The City website first reported.
Ates, under a plea deal with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, accepted a penalty of 10 lost vacation days. But Caban in his final decision rejected the penalty and waived any discipline of Ates at all, The City reported.
While trial commissioners and the CCRB can make recommendations on discipline, police commissioners have the final say and can increase or reduce discipline at their sole discretion.
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