Why did Westfield police officers who alleged racial profiling resign?

A discrimination lawsuit brought by two Westfield police officers was dismissed last month, and the officers resigned in late May after pleading guilty to disciplinary charges, according to town officials.

In late June, the lawsuit filed last year by Sgt. Preston Freeman and Lt. Nicole Stivale was dismissed as well as all crossclaims without costs, according to court records.

In a Facebook post last week, Mayor Shelley Brindle said the litigation clears the town and Police Chief Christopher Battiloro of accusations of wrongdoing from the two former officers who claimed they were the victims of discrimination and harassment in the department.

"This outcome reaffirms what we already knew through our own Internal Affairs investigation, and underscores that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated by our Police Department or this administration," Brindle wrote.

"The Westfield Police Department is among the top law enforcement agencies in the state, reflected in the department's current leadership and the ongoing professionalism of the men and women who serve our community. The town is pleased with the outcome of this lawsuit, as it reaffirms the findings of our Internal Affairs investigation into these allegations. The civil complaint was dismissed with prejudice and Chief Battiloro was also dismissed from the lawsuit," Town Administrator James Gildea said in a statement.

In March 2022, Freeman, then 49, who had served with the Westfield Police Department since about 2000 and was the first Black officer in Westfield to reach the rank of sergeant, and Lt. Nicole Stivale, 42, the highest-ranking female officer in the department's history, filed the lawsuit alleging they were the victims of retaliation after complaining that a police officer had engaged in racial profiling.

Their lawsuit was filed just weeks after Freeman and Stivale were charged with 10 violations of departmental and internal affairs procedures, as well as departmental rules and regulations, in connection to filing complaints against a town officer believed to be engaging in racially influenced policing.

According to the lawsuit, in 2007 when Freeman was assigned to the downtown district, where previously officers had patrolled by car, he was told to walk the beat and when he was asked why he was not allowed to use a patrol car, he was allegedly told by a white sergeant, “that’s for them and this is for you."

The lawsuit also alleged initially Freeman's lunch break was limited to 30 minutes, while white officers received 60-minute meal breaks.

The lawsuit alleged Battiloro tried to throw out the 2018 promotional examination results when Freeman placed second on the sergeant’s test. When Freeman indicated he might seek legal action to enforce the test results, he was promoted to sergeant, the lawsuit said.

And once Freeman became a sergeant, he faced intense scrutiny and had his decisions questioned regularly by Battiloro and Capt. Frank Padavano, both of whom are white, according to the lawsuit.

Local: Wonder trucks are off the road, but the dining app now has a restaurant in Westfield

According to the lawsuit, Freeman and Stivale were both working the night shift on Jan. 29, 2021, and a white male officer was assigned to selective enforcement from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. During that time the officer stopped a Black man on East Broad Street for speeding and failing to keep right and issued him a summons for driving with an expired license, the lawsuit said. That same night the officer stopped a white man for driving 65 mph on East Broad Street where the speed limit is 25 mph and only gave him a warning, the lawsuit said.

Freeman questioned the officer about the discrepancy, and the officer responded by saying the white driver was a "nice guy," the lawsuit said.

Both Freeman and Stivale questioned the officer about the vehicle stops and told the officer to draft an officer’s report detailing why he chose not to write a ticket for "such an egregious traffic violation," according to the lawsuit. The officer refused to file the report or "recategorize" the dashcam and body cam footage, the lawsuit said.

Both Freeman and Stivale filed supervisory complaints against the officer for his actions that night, alleging that the officer had engaged in racial profiling, according to the lawsuit.

A few days later Stivale was notified she was the target of an Internal Affairs investigation from the Jan. 29, 2021, incident in which she issued the white officer an immediate suspension, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit charged that since then, whenever Freeman or Stivale made complaints of unlawful behavior with the department or among employees, they were subjected to retaliation by their supervisors.

Gildea, the town administrator, said the two officers who brought the allegations agreed to plead guilty to the disciplinary charges of neglect of duty and insubordination and resigned from the Westfield Police Department, effective May 31.

"This lawsuit led to many unfounded accusations about the department which Chief Battiloro and our officers have stoically weathered in silence while it was adjudicated. What is most egregious about these unfounded accusations is that they diminish the legitimate claims of discrimination and harassment that are unfortunately much too commonplace in other police departments around the country. I want to reaffirm this administration’s full support of Chief Battiloro and our officers and express our gratitude for all they do to keep our community safe," Brindle said in her post.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Westfield NJ police officers who alleged racial profiling resign