An independent investigation into Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's response to alleged harassment by his former Chief of Staff Thomas Cook found that the city didn't break any laws in its response to those complaints, but raised new questions about the end of Cook's tenure as chief of staff back in 2020.
Chicago-based law firm Fisher Phillips' months-long, $450,000 investigation found that Cook was allowed to stay on as chief of staff for 68 days following the city's 2020 investigation that found Cook had violated city policy by having another relationship with a subordinate. The law firm said that time period warrants further investigation, and multiple City-County Council members criticized the Hogsett administration for the decision.
The overall finding from the law firm, presented to the Indianapolis City-County Council's investigative committee on May 29, is that Hogsett's administration acted within the law during three investigations conducted in 2017, 2020 and 2023 as the result of Cook's alleged behavior.
Two of the women who accused Cook of harassment and sexual assault were not immediately available to comment on the report's contents, though one expressed alarm that she was not given a copy of the report until it was already released to the public.
IndyStar reported last year that three women alleged that Cook sexually harassed them while he was their supervisor, and Cook engaged in another consensual relationship with a subordinate employee. One of the women...
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