St. John will pay $150k to settle a sexual harassment suit

ST. JOHN — The town will pay a former police dispatcher $150,000 to settle her sexual harassment claim against a once high-ranking police official.

Michael Fryzel, a former police officer and town councilman, still faces criminal charges he physically and verbally abused the dispatcher. Fryzel, 55, of St. John, is pleading not guilty.

Christopher Cooper, the woman's attorney, said she resisted efforts by attorneys for Fryzel and the town to deny her settlement money unless she convinced the prosecutor to drop sexual battery charges against her. "Its been non-stop pressure," he said.

Attorneys for Fryzel said they never bullied her.

She and Fryzel sat in a U.S. District courtroom for hours Tuesday while their six lawyers reached an agreement in a hearing presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry. She signed the agreement. Both said they had no objections to ending the civil suit.

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