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A firm hired to investigate how Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration handled sexual harassment allegations against his former chief of staff determined the administration’s response complied with law and did not violate city-county policy.
The Indianapolis City-County Council last year chose to conduct an independent investigation after three women came forward with harassment allegations against Thomas Cook, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s former chief of staff. The council formed an investigation committee, which then hired an independent law firm to investigate the administration’s handling of the allegations.
Thursday night, Chicago-based Fisher Phillips presented its findings following a seven-month investigation. The firm determined the city met the minimum legal standards and the city’s human resource policies when dealing with Cook, who served in the administration from 2015 until he resigned at Hogsett’s request at the end of 2020.
But the report included recommendations for improving the city’s anti-sexual harassment policy and procedures to handle alleged violations more effectively.
Fisher Phillips presented its findings virtually during a meeting of the investigative committee. The meeting was interrupted multiple times by audience member outbursts, and at one point, Councilor Crista Carlino, who chairs the committee, put the meeting into recess.
Last summer, IndyStar and later Mirror Indy published reports detailing three women’s accusations against Cook while he worked for Hogsett’s campaign and the city. Cook has not been charged with a crime. He has previously acknowledged that he had “consensual relationships that violated a trust placed in me.”
Fisher Phillips conducted interviews with at least 12 individuals, including Hogsett and two of the women who accused Cook. The women are not identified by name in the report and are referred to as Complainant 1 and Complainant 2. The report said the firm made multiple attempts to interview Cook, who is not named in the report but is referred to as Respondent. The firm received no response.
The firm also reviewed more than 950 pages of documents, which included text messages and emails.
“I want to express my appreciation to the Fisher Phillips team for their professionalism and thoroughness throughout this investigation,” Carlino said Thursday. “I also want to thank those who participated in the process—your cooperation was essential. We recognize the difficulty and sensitivity of this matter. It is my hope that the findings and recommendations in this report will guide meaningful reforms and help foster a safer, more accountable work environment for all City employees.”
Reports findings
At question is whether Hogsett’s administration properly handled the allegations made against Cook.
The Hogsett campaign through an attorney conducted an investigation in 2017 into allegations made against Cook by a former campaign staffer (identified by the law firm as Complainant 1). Following that investigation, Hogsett told Cook he could have no relationships with city-county employees and that violating that directive could result in his being disciplined.
Then in 2020, after the city’s HR director learned of a relationship Cook was allegedly having with a city employee, Hogsett hired the same attorney to investigate the matter. That investigation concluded that the relationship, which was consensual, had violated the city’s Non-Fraternization Policy and Hogsett’s directive. It recommended Cook “leave the administration with the requirement that he disclose the reason for his departure to any subsequent employer,” Fisher Phillips report states.
A third investigation came after a second woman, who was previously employed by the city and is identified as Complainant 2 in the report, made allegations against Cook to Hogsett in 2023.
“While complainants 1 and 2 challenge the existence, timing, and integrity of the investigations into their raised complaints, the response by Mayor Joe Hogsett and his administration was legally sufficient and reasonable under the circumstances,” the report said.
The report stated it was “not inconsistent with the law” for Cook to be allowed to resign as opposed to being fired since the relationship investigated in 2020 was consensual.
“It would be reasonable to expect a more cooperative departure,” the report stated. “However, the fact Respondent knowingly violated the 2017 directive … would reasonably cause the City County’s decision to be questioned.”
In a statement, Hogsett said he was “appreciative” of all who cooperated with the investigation, including those who provided work and personal emails and texts to the firm.
“While I have not had an opportunity to read the full report at this time, the findings are clear that the earlier investigations and resulting sanctions were handled appropriately and confidentially,” he said. “It remains crucial that the city has the best system in place for reporting, investigating, and dealing with harassment of any kind, which is why I will work with the City-County Council on how these recommendations may further strengthen efforts to create a safer, better workplace for everyone throughout the City’s operations.”
Next steps
The firm made recommendations the city can take to enhance how it handles violations going forward.
Fisher Phillips suggested replacing the current Human Resources division with an independent board similar to that of the city’s information technology board. Additionally, it suggested appointing an independent inspector-general.
The firm also said the city should update and modernize its policies and reporting systems and update training models to include completion tracking.
The report also raised questions about whether Cook should have been allowed to continue his employment after the 2020 investigation was complete in November 2020. Cook worked an additional 68 days through the end of that December.
“Some individuals interviewed during this Investigation shared their perception that Respondent was given an opportunity to use the period … to position himself for personal gain by negotiating contracts for his own benefit,” the report stated.
Fisher Phillips stated it could not easily discern what Cook worked on during that time and was unable to “gauge the reasonableness of the decision that he stay-on to complete that work. ”
It did however recommend that the city “identifies action steps” it can take to minimize “potential for City-County employees to negotiate contracts for personal gain while employed at the City-County or for the 12-months following their departure.”
Following the meeting, Carlino said she “100%” would support an investigation into that timeline.
“There are definitely some recommendations that we saw in the report to take a closer look at the time period between when Thomas Cook was determined to be fired and when he was actually terminated, and that’s definitely something the office of Corporation Counsel and other entities will likely be looking into now that the report has been made public,” she told reporters.
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