A police lieutenant in Carlstadt has filed a lawsuit against the police department and the borough, claiming he was retaliated against for whistleblowing activities, which allegedly included refusing to write tickets to residents who hadn’t violated any laws.
Lt. Chris Hasch claims in court papers that Police Chief Thomas Cox wanted him to write parking summonses on May 20, 2022, after spotting what the chief believed were parking violations on Eastern Way, a mixed-use residential and commercial section of the borough.
Hasch, however, determined summonses were not warranted and wrote warnings instead, according to the lawsuit, filed Oct. 6 in state Superior Court in Bergen County.
“Since then, Cox has made the issuance of tickets from the squads a priority in that location,” the suit says, claiming “scores of tickets” have been written and vehicles impounded, all of which raised revenue for Carlstadt but are in violation of the law.
The lawsuit says Hasch’s refusal to write “bogus tickets to innocent residents” prompted the chief to denigrate Hasch to his peers. On multiple occasions, another lieutenant wrote Cox “hates you” to Hasch in group texts, according to the suit.
The chief allegedly attempted to “dismantle Hasch as a supervisor, took to discrediting” him and caused his peers to shun him, the lawsuit alleges.
Cox and other borough officials are accused in the suit of violating Hasch’s First Amendment right to free speech.
Cox and Joseph R. Donahue, the borough’s...
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