NYPD cop says she was sexually harassed, punished for speaking up

An NYPD officer was sexually assaulted by her “mentor” — then sent to a shrink by her bosses when she spoke out, she claims in a new lawsuit.

Brooklyn Detective Jasmin Walls, 31, says she endured over a year of harassment and abuse from her partner, Detective Carlos Zambrano, who allegedly groped her, sent texts saying he was “horny” and flashed explicit photos, according to court papers filed July 24 in Manhattan Supreme Court.

When she alerted her bosses of the behavior, Walls told The Post, she was smeared with rumors, referred to NYPD Psychological Services and stripped of her gun, shield and ID.

“I just never thought I would be a victim like this,” Walls said. “I expect that from someone on the streets … not somebody in blue.”

The alleged harassment began in November 2022, when Walls, a cop at the time, was assigned to Brooklyn’s 90th Precinct in Williamsburg while on the NYPD’s 18-month detective track, the lawsuit says.

“He was supposed to technically be my mentor,” Walls said of Zambrano. “As he got to know me, it started progressing … you never knew what you were gonna get.”

What began with lewd comments turned into groping, sexually explicit messages and threats she’d be labeled a “rat” if she told anyone, the lawsuit alleges.

In one revolting instance in January 2023, Zambrano allegedly grabbed her by the bun and yanked her head toward his crotch in a stairwell to simulate “oral sex”, she told The Post.

“I was just so shocked,” Walls said. “For him to grab me by the head … how could somebody in the police department really do that?”

Still, she stayed silent — determined to get her detective shield, she told The Post.

But after a precinct holiday party in December 2023, where Zambrano allegedly rubbed his penis against her leg in public, Walls reported the abuse to a Detective Endowment Association delegate and welfare officer, the lawsuit states.

The union rep asked if she could still “work with men,” and said Zambrano would apologize, the suit claims.

Several supervisors also allegedly knew about Zambrano’s behavior but failed to intervene, according to the suit.

From that point on, Walls says she was ostracized.

She was labeled “problematic,” a “log dropper” and “rat,” denied overtime and iced out by coworkers — all while her delegate allegedly spread rumors and told others Walls had filed an EEO complaint, Walls told The Post.

Walls transferred to Brooklyn’s 81st Precinct in Bedford Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights in April 2024, but said the gossip followed her as the delegate allegedly continued the smear campaign for over a year, the lawsuit alleges.

To escape the “hostile” environment, Walls asked to transfer to patrol in July 2025. But she said she was forced to withdraw the request under “pressure.”

Then, Capt. Robert Corrado, one of her supervisors, labeled her “indecisive” and sent her to Psych Services, where she was stripped of her gun, shield and ID, according to the lawsuit.

“They tried to discredit me and humiliate me,” Walls said.

Walls was cleared the same day by a department psychologist, she said.

Zambrano, who’s married, remains on the job.

“He gets to work on his cases like nothing happened,” she said. “Meanwhile, my career is tarnished because of his actions.”

Her attorney, John Scola, said, “The NYPD protects sexual predators and punishes the women who dare to speak up. This case shines more light on a broken system of harassment, retaliation and institutional failure, one that … will only change because of brave women like Detective Walls.”

Walls is seeking unspecified damages.

The NYPD declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Zambrano and Corrado could not be reached for comment.