Neptune police chief plans to sue town over new bosses

NEPTUNE - There's another lawsuit coming against the township, but it's not against the police force. This time, it's the police chief threating to sue the town.

Police Chief James Hunt plans to sue the governing body to overturn its creation of a three-member oversight committee that Hunt will have to report to, according to Vito Gagliardi, an attorney for the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police who said he represents Hunt in the lawsuit.

Gagliardi said the change will encroach on the chief's authority and inject politics into the department's operations.

Hunt could not be reached for comment.

If the suit is filed, it will be the sixth high-profile lawsuit against the township regarding its police force in the past two years. The video at the top explains some of the problems faced by the department.

Gagliardi claims the language of the ordinance allows several inappropriate actions. They include:

Allowing a subordinate of the police chief to be appointed to the oversight committee.

Allowing the committee to directly discipline department employees, bypassing the chief.

Giving the committee an inappropriate role in department assignments and procedures.

Gagliardi said even if it's not the current Township Committee's plan to place a subordinate officer from the Neptune police department on the police oversight body, the ordinance doesn't preclude a future township committee from doing so. The township committee will discuss a revised ordinance of who is eligible for the committee on Monday night at 7:30 p.m

"I’m only basing it on the language of the ordinance," Gagliardi told the Press. He said the suit will challenge the legality of the ordinance.

The township committee approved the measure 4-1 July 24. Before the change, oversight of the department was handled by Michael J. Bascom, the police director and township's chief financial officer. The chiefs association also sent a letter to the township a week before the vote that stated it would sue if the three-member committee were created.

NEW STRUCTURE: Neptune shakes up police oversight after lawsuits

You can read the letter below:

"What they’re doing is purely political," said Ray Hayducka, a spokesman for the association and the chief of police for South Brunswick. "They’re going to take away rights of the chief. They (the three-person committee) want to tell him how to discipline; they’re trying to impede on his statutory rights."

In July, the township said it wanted more oversight of the police department after the force found itself embroiled in controversy with several costly lawsuit payouts, allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a domestic violence killing at the hands of an off-duty Neptune officer.

The newly established oversight committee will be comprised of two Township Committee members, and a yet-to-be determined civilian member, whom Mayor Michael Brantley said he would like to be a retired police officer. The police chief will report directly to the committee. Under the previous structure, the police chief reported to the police director.

Neptune Township Attorney Gene Anthony, who crafted the ordinance, said the complaints from the police chiefs association were unwarranted and argued that the Township Committee was well within its authority to establish the oversight body.

"There is a statutory and constitutional principle that the civilian government supervises the township police force," Anthony said.

"As long as what we do benefits the community then I’m happy. We don’t look at anything through a political lens other than the fact that we are politicians. We look at things as what’s best for Neptune," Brantley said.

Brantley said Bascom was appointed police director in 2013 during a time of transition and that the committee never intended for the position to be permanent. Bascom continues to serve as the chief financial officer and emergency management coordinator.

Before Bascom managed the police department, it was overseen by the Township Committee, according to Anthony.

Lawsuits against the township

Since 2013, the police department has faced controversy over allegations of officer misconduct.

Two women on the Neptune force, Elena Gonzalez and Christine Savage, settled separate suits in 2014 that alleged sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The township never admitted wrongdoing in the settlements. The women filed new suits in 2016, alleging the harassment and discrimination never abated.

Gonzalez resigned this past April. You can view a video of her reading her emotional resignation letter below.

In 2016, a third Neptune officer, Kyheem Davis filed a discrimination lawsuit against the township that has yet to be resolved. Davis claimed he was retaliated against for backing up Gonzalez and Savage's accounts of harassment and faced unfair discipline from the department.

This past June, the children of former Neptune police Sgt. Philip Seidle and Tamara Wilson-Seidle filed a wrongful death suit, naming the township as one of the defendants for the killing of their mother. Seidle pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter for the 2015 killing of his ex-wife and is serving a 30-year sentence.

SEIDLE: The children of Tamara Wilson-Seidle file suit for their mother's killing

In July, the Press filed suit against the township seeking access to more than 600 pages of Seidle's internal affairs records.

INFORMATION: APP sues Neptune for Seidle documents

The Township Committee is expected to appoint the police committee at its Aug. 14 meeting, Anthony said. The meeting will be held at the municipal headquarters located at 25 Neptune Ave. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

Austin Bogues 732-643-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com