Rockaway Township cop sues mayor, chief after being passed over for promotions
A Rockaway Township police officer is suing the town, mayor and his chief, claiming he was passed over for promotion several times after he warned state officials about problems with the department's communications equipment.
An amended complaint filed last month in state Superior Court in Morris County states that despite scoring lower on qualifying exams, other officers were promoted to sergeant over Officer Greg Albert. The lawsuit alleges retaliation on the part of township and department officials for his actions as the department's representative to the state PBA.
Albert was passed over while two other officers were promoted to sergeant in May, not long after the union agreed to a new contract following 18 months of bitter negotiations, according to the suit. He says was passed over twice more in August, about two weeks after filing his initial complaint.
Rockaway cop's lawsuit claims retaliation
Retired Rockaway Township administrator Patricia Seger also is named as a defendant in the complaint, along with Mayor Joseph Jackson and Police Chief Martin McParland.
Municipal attorney John Iaciofano on Tuesday declined comment on the pending litigation except to say the township has hired outside council to handle the case and he is "hopeful for a good result."
Albert and his attorney, Nick Milewski, also declined to comment on the active litigation.
The lawsuit identifies Albert as a member of the department since 2015, leaving the Franklin Lakes Police Department after 18 months to return to his hometown. It also details his accomplishments on the job. During his time in Rockaway, Albert has been assigned to the Emergency Services Unit, certified as the department's only drug recognition expert and was the department's leader in narcotic and DWI self-initiated arrests, according to the suit.
He also has served since 2016 as the department's representative to the state PBA, the union that represents all but 11 of the 53 members of the force.
Broken police radios
In May 2020, Albert signed a complaint with the state under the Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health Act describing the portable radios and car radios provided to the officers as "not working properly, creating a safety issue."
He filed the complaint after his superiors failed to act on his concerns and the PBA authorized him to contact state officials, the lawsuit states.
"As a result of plaintiff’s complaint, the township was required to expend significant funds to repair the portable and car radio system," the lawsuit reads. Since then, McParland and Seger have "retaliated against plaintiff by subjecting him to adverse employment actions."
Those actions include discipline for failure to use his siren on one occasion, which the lawsuit describes as a minor infraction that does not normally result in the offender being "written up."
Shortly after filing the state complaint, and after the PBA surpassed the Fraternal Order of Police as the department's majority bargaining unit, Albert also was removed from his assignment as Field Training Officer, the lawsuit alleges.
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His relationship with the township eroded further after the previous PBA contract expired in December 2021, leading to negotiations that included Albert.
"The township had adopted an adversarial approach to contract negotiations and plaintiff’s interactions with BA Seger were contentious," the lawsuit alleges. "The PBA’s contract negotiations with the township were hotly disputed and became a public issue."
One day after the township signed the new PBA contract on May 19, 2023, Albert "was advised that he was being bypassed for promotion twice, despite being ranked No. 1 on the Civil Service promotional list."
"The township has never skipped a candidate ranked No. 1 on the list," the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit asks for Albert to be promoted to sergeant, retroactive to May, and for compensatory damages.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morris County cop says he was punished for reporting faulty radios
