Female K-9 instructor says she was removed from her Rikers Island post and separated from her canine partner as punishment for filing sexual harassment claim
- K-9 trainer Donna Schnirring who worked at Rikers with her German Shepard partner, says she is being punished for filing a sexual harassment claim
- She says she filed a complaint with the Department of Corrections and now she has been removed from Rikers and no longer works with the dog, Bullet
- She filed a federal suit against the DOC over being removed from Rikers and placed in a desk job at Queens Central Booking
![Donna Schnirring filed a federal suit against the Department of Corrections over her removal from Rikers Island and being separated from her K-9 partner Bullet (pictured together)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/05/24/21/4C99C6CC00000578-5768855-Donna_Schnirring_filed_a_federal_suit_against_the_Department_of_-a-80_1527193949464.jpg)
Donna Schnirring filed a federal suit against the Department of Corrections over her removal from Rikers Island and being separated from her K-9 partner Bullet (pictured together)
A K-9 instructor filed a federal suit against the New York Department of Corrections saying she was separated from her canine partner over her sexual harassment complaint against a male-coworker.
Donna Schnirring, who worked in the elite Emergency Services Unit, says she was punished for filing her complaint with the DOC, and has since been removed from her post at Rikers, and placed on a desk job.
Schnirring tells NBC4 New York that she was removed following an alleged fight that occurred in her team's trailer on Rikers Island, but that she was not even present on the island when the physical altercation ensued.
'I was nowhere to be found on Rikers Island at the time,' Schnirring said, adding that she was on an earlier tour that day.
She is the only female K-9 instructor in New York state, and says she was removed from her Rikers post, and given a desk job at Queens Central Booking, and was sepearated from the dog that she spent years training.
![Schnirring says she believes she was removed from her post for filing a sexual harassment claim against a male co-worker](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/05/24/21/4C99C6E000000578-0-image-a-6_1527192423195.jpg)
Schnirring says she believes she was removed from her post for filing a sexual harassment claim against a male co-worker
Bullet, the eight-year-old German Shepard still lives with her in her home on Long Island, but he is still the property of the DOC.
'We're already trained. If we were in the facility working, we could retrieve more contraband and assist to make it safer. Why wouldn't the department want that? It's a complete waste,' she said.
She also says no one has given her a concrete reason as to why she was removed from Rikers.
Peter Thorne, a spokesman for the Correction Department told NBC4 in a statement, 'The officer's robust training does not restrict her to K-9 activities.'
Schnirring's attorney, Daniela Nanau, meanwhile says it is New York City taxpayers who are getting robbed because all of Schnirring's training is currently going to waste.
'We invested thousands of dollars in her training. Now, we're not reaping the benefits of that training because she's benched after complaining about sexual harassment.'
Schnirring filed her sexual harassment case with the DOC in January 2017.
The case was found to be unsubstantiated.
She says the long days away from Bullet are taking their toll.
'He's like my child. I don't have a child. It's heartbreaking. It's very hard to get through the day,' she said.
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