Former Hogsett Chief of Staff accused of inappropriate relationships with subordinates
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A former top advisor to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett left his job with the city after allegations of inappropriate behavior with female subordinates.
The city confirmed Friday that Thomas Cook resigned as Hogsett’s Chief of Staff in December 2020 for violating a prohibition on “romantic relationships with any coworker.”
Both Cook and the coworker described the relationship as “consensual.”
The city imposed the prohibition on Cook in October 2017, after an investigation found “inappropriate romantic advances to a co-worker in 2014 when both were employed on the Hogsett for Mayor campaign, which were initially communicated to the administration in May 2017.”
“The City takes any and all allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct extremely seriously,” the City of Indianapolis Office of Corporate Counsel told WISH-TV in a written statement. “We are grateful for the integrity and fortitude of those bringing these matters to our attention. The investigations and resulting sanctions were conducted and recommended by an outside law firm specializing in employment law that was immediately retained by this office for those purposes.”
Cook also advised Hogsett’s reelection bid in 2023 before the campaign cut ties with him in October of that year.
The corporation counsel statement says Hogsett ordered Cook have no association with the political effort and that all service contracts between the city and Cook be discontinued after new allegations of inappropriate romantic conduct with a subordinate surfaced.
The statements follow an Indianapolis Star article Friday that detailed three women accused Cook of “preying on subordinates for years.”
Mayor Hogsett released a statement Friday afternoon, praising the women for coming forward and defending the city’s actions in each case.
First and foremost, I am grateful to the women who courageously brought this unacceptable behavior to our attention and bravely shared their stories publicly. I condemn the conduct that was reported. As set forth in the official statement from the City of Indianapolis Office of Corporation, each complaint, at the time it was reported, was taken seriously, investigated, and resulted in sanctions.
This Administration has made continued efforts to improve the sexual harassment training and protocols available to support City employees. Sexual harassment training was made a mandatory requirement for supervisors, and that requirement was cemented in City code in 2019. Sexual harassment reporting protocols were updated as recently as 2023. This Administration remains committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of every employee, and we will always seek ways to improve our policies and best practices.
Joseph Hogsett, Mayor of Indianapolis
A spokesperson for Bose McKinney & Evans, a business law firm that deals in government issues where Cook had worked after leaving city government, confirmed to WISH-TV that Cook was no longer employed by the company as of Friday morning.