Pike DA says dispatcher's sex abuse claims were investigated

March 03--Authorities investigated a dispatcher's claim that a state trooper at the Blooming Grove barracks sexually assaulted her, but closed the case without filing criminal charges, Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said.

Nicole Palmer, the civilian dispatcher on duty during the Sept. 12, 2014, sniper attack at the Blooming Grove barracks that killed one trooper and wounded another, claims in a lawsuit that a trooper there raped her in 2013, and continued to sexually harass her thereafter.

The lawsuit claims allegations she made against the trooper, who is not identified, were not seriously investigated and that Palmer was retaliated against by members of the state police, who sought to keep her allegations secret. Because she filed a lawsuit and has been identified by name in previous stories, The Times-Tribune is naming Palmer.

Contacted Wednesday, Tonkin said the criminal investigation into her claims of incidents that occurred in Pike County is closed unless new information comes to light. He declined to identify the trooper involved or to comment further on the case.

Palmer's attorneys, Michael Gallacher and Kevin Dempsey, also declined to identify the trooper or comment on why they left the person's name out of the lawsuit.

Tonkin confirmed an internal investigation of Palmer's allegations, some of which included conduct in Lackawanna County, was turned over to authorities there. Attempts to obtain information on the status of the Lackawanna County investigation into those claims were unsuccessful Thursday.

In October, a copy of the internal report was provided to attorneys for the alleged sniper, Eric Matthew Frein, of Canadensis, who is charged with homicide and multiple other offenses for the fatal shooting of Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II, of Dunmore, and the wounding of Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant.

Frein's attorneys, Michael Weinstein and William Ruzzo, said the report has no bearing on Frein's criminal case. Jury selection begins Thursday in Chester County; the trial is scheduled to begin April 3 in Pike County Court.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com, @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.

___

(c)2017 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)

Visit The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.) at thetimes-tribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.