Tuesday’s Lehigh Township supervisors meeting was filled with residents who came to find answers about the lawsuit against the chief of police and the supervisors.

Lehigh Township supervisors approved a $1.75 million payment last month to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a former township police officer.

The township will pay Jessica Edwards the sum to settle a suit she filed against the township’s police chief, Scott Fogel, alleging that he sexually harassed her, physically accosted her and retaliated against her over her five-year employment with the township.

The township is expected to pay $275,000 of that amount, which is the back wages owed Edwards. The insurance company will pay the remainder.

Resident Paul Nikisher said Tuesday, “There needs to be more transparency with information.”

Traci Hafner asked, “Why is the chief of police still employed?”

In a complaint filed in June, an attorney for Edwards said she was “singled out and persistently disparaged, belittled, sexually objectified and insulted by Police Chief Scott Fogel.”

“She was physically accosted by him, denied opportunities for professional development and growth, retaliated against for complaining of mistreatment and ultimately placed in such a hostile, toxic and intolerable work environment that she was forced to resign for her own well-being,” Edwards’ attorney, Ryan Corkery of Ansa Assuncao LLP, wrote.

The lawsuit named both Fogel and the Lehigh Township Police Department.

Edwards was hired by the department in February 2018. The complaint alleged Fogel questioned whether Edwards was having a sexual relationship with another officer, made sexualized comments about her social media activity and, in a meeting alone with her, pulled up his shirt to expose his “stomach, naval, nipples and chest” to her.

Edwards also alleged that during the winter of 2020, Fogel “approached her from behind, gripped her hair, and forcefully snapped her head back, pulling her toward the midsection of his body and torso.”

Hafner said Tuesday, “My daughter just went through law enforcement (training), and I’m terrified that it could have been her.”

John Knobloch, a seven-year resident, is retired from law enforcement after 25 years in the Secret Service.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t take action when this first happened. There must have been at least one thing in the case that made you settle,” Knobloch said.

He also asked if the chief paid any of the $275,000 for the lost wages the township is expected to pay as part of the settlement. The answer was no.

He then asked, “Were the allegations against the chief brought to the attention of the board of supervisors?”

The supervisors said they cannot talk about it as it’s part of the settlement.

Lauren Taylor commented, “You are paying to support new cadets in the academy, but it’s really scary to think about the bad habits they will pick up under the regime of the chief.”