At left, Lt. Nicole Stivale takes the oath of office after being promoted in November 2020. At right, Sgt. Preston Freeman has a badge pinned on him after being promoted in September 2019.
WESTFIELD, NJ — A whistleblower lawsuit claims that the Westfield Police Department retaliated and discriminated against an African American sergeant and a female lieutenant for reporting racial profiling.
Sgt. Preston Freeman — the first African American to reach the rank of sergeant in the department — and Lt. Nicole Stivale — the highest-ranking female police officer in the department’s history — filed suit in Superior Court in Union County Friday.
The 19-page complaint alleges that top brass carried out a pattern of discrimination and harassment against Freeman, 49, and Stivale, 42, including through internal affairs investigations that in January yielded 10 charges against each and recommended both be suspended for 45-days without pay.
“These trumped up and baseless charges were issued by Defendant in direct retaliation to Plaintiff’s complaints regarding unlawful behavior as well as in furtherance of their discriminatory animus toward Sgt. Freeman and Lt. Stivale because of their inclusion in protected categories,” the lawsuit says.
Robert Ballard, an attorney with the Springfield-based firm, O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble LLC, represents Freeman and Stivale.
“We look forward to proving the allegations in the Complaint and seeking justice on behalf of our clients,” said...
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