Palisades Park reinstates police chief, captain days after judge voided their promotions

PALISADES PARK — Just days after a judge voided the promotions of the police chief and a captain to settle a lawsuit, the Borough Council reinstated the promotions and returned the men to the positions.

The lawsuit was brought by the current mayor and council members, who challenged the validity of the promotions made by a lame-duck mayor and members of the previous council in December on the basis that they were done so without enough votes

During his last meeting as mayor, Christopher Chung promoted Officer in Charge Capt. Anthony Espino to chief after three previously failed attempts, and Sgt. John Gasparovich to captain, skipping the rank of lieutenant.

Espino's promotion came after the council approved a $40,000 settlement with him in his lawsuit against the borough.

However, when the current mayor took over in January, a lawsuit was filed that questioned the legality of the promotions. A judge agreed last week and ruled the promotions invalid.

Mayor Paul Kim called a special council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the future of the Police Department. After a closed session meeting, Councilman Michael Vietri made a motion to reinstate the promotions, saying the lawsuit wasn't meant to go after the chief or captain personally, but after the process.

"It was the way it was done, so in the future that it can't happen again with only two votes," Vietri said. "But, it was nothing personal against these two gentlemen."

The council agreed and voted in favor of the promotions with Councilwoman Cynthia Pirrera abstaining due to a conflict of interest because her son is a police officer and Councilman Suk "John" Min abstaining because he was not a council member at the time of the original vote.

"This is out of respect for the mistake we made," Councilman Jason Kim said. "They deserve this and they have been doing a good job so far."

Espino's attorney, Patrick Toscano of the Toscano Law Firm, said the action was both "requested" and "deeply appreciated."

"Chief Espino is gratified that his multiple years of service to the people of Palisades Park and that fine municipality has been acknowledged, recognized and approved by resolution designating him as chief," Toscano said.

"We thank the current governing body for taking the time to painstakingly evaluate the overall proficiency and efficacy of the PPPD for the last several months under the leadership and direction of Chief Espino."

During the meeting, Mayor Paul Kim did question whether the recommendations for the promotions were his as mayor or the council's to make. Municipal attorney Michael Collins said, typically when there is an appointment the mayor has 30 days to make a recommendation to the mayor and council. If he doesn't act in those 30 days, the task falls to the mayor and council.

Kim said he believed the 30 days should have begun with the judge's ruling and not from December.

"I thought there was more meaning to the lawsuit," the mayor said. "I thought to make things right, we would go through the proper procedures, and I should have had 30 days. The majority of the council wanted the promotions anyway, we could have done it then without going through a lawsuit."

More: Westwood's 'controversial issues' policy goes too far. Why hurt students? | Mike Kelly

How we got here

After a new mayor and members of the Borough Council were sworn in early this year, they filed a lawsuit asking a judge to review the legality of the two promotions. The lawsuit hinged on the fact that the promotions were approved by only two affirmative council votes.

State Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington ruled last week that the promotions are indeed void.

The judge's ruling said that although there were enough council members to have a quorum for a meeting, state law and the borough's own ordinance state that an appointment must be made with three affirmative votes, with the mayor voting only if there is a tie, which wasn't the case.

More: Ridgewood suspends street closings for weekend pedestrian plazas. Here's why

The promotions come at a time when officials have said leadership and a new direction is needed for the embattled Police Department.

Last year saw a lawsuit settlement, three new lawsuits and one tort notice filed internally by officers against the Police Department. A prisoner escape led to a Bergen County Prosecutor's Office investigation. Though no criminal charges were filed, the former officer in charge, Capt. Shawn Lee, retired as part of a settlement agreement, and Lt. Alessandro Monteleone resigned.

The department has been led by an officer in charge since Chief Mark Jackson retired in 2019. During the past decade, the force has had four chiefs and gone through a tumultuous time marked by suspensions, lawsuits and infighting. Some of the department's troubles date to the 1990s, when officers were found to be running a burglary ring and drew unwanted national attention.

"I think we made a very good decision last year," said Councilwoman Stephanie Jang, one of the affirmative votes in the original promotions.

"We went through the interviews and the records of each person's ability to carry out the position," Jang said during the meeting. "The same respect and trust in the decision that was made in very good faith is still there."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Palisades Park NJ reinstates police chief after voided promotion