NEPTUNE - An appellate court ruled Wednesday the township properly disciplined an officer who sped to the scene of a fatal car accident in 2014, reversing a lower court decision.

The ruling reinstates a hearing officer's decision to suspend Officer Kyheem Davis for 90 days without pay, a judgment overturned by a lower court.

The appellate court panel also rejected a motion from Davis to have the township compensate him back pay from the suspension and attorney fees.

The township was represented in the appeal by attorney Jonathan F. Cohen, with the firm Plosia Cohen LLC. Cohen could not be immediately reached for comment.

“The real reason for the discipline being launched against Officer Kyheem Davis is because he opposed discrimination and harassment of fellow officers Elena Gonzalez and Christine Savage in 2013 and they have been retaliating against him ever since,” Donald F. Burke, Davis’s attorney in the lawsuit said in a statement. “Neptune is hell-bent on terminating Officer Davis for standing up for justice.”

You can see a video above this story of Davis addressing the Neptune Township Committee in 2016.

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A panel of judges — Joseph Yannotti, Robert Gilson and Arnold Natali Jr. — made the ruling.

The appellate court said the trial court was wrong to rule that Davis had "had full control of his car" and did not "operate the vehicle in a reckless manner" on Dec. 14, 2014, when he drove at speeds reaching 131 mph responding to the scene of a fatal accident in the township.

The court said a review of video footage showed Davis driving through two stop signs in a residential area before picking up speed en route to the scene.

"The (lower) court's statements that plaintiff never drove through a stop sign is clearly erroneous, as evidenced by the first minute of the (video) footage," the panel wrote. "Additionally, plaintiff's repeated crossing of double-yellow lines and tailgating a pick-up truck at an excessive speed and driving in excess of 100 mph while facing oncoming traffic and in an area with homes and businesses cannot be considered 'safe and controlled.'"

Davis has argued that he was facing unfair discipline in the case and was being retaliated against for supporting two female police officers' allegations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination on the police force in a 2013 report that investigated their claims. He filed a lawsuit against the township in 2015.

The women, former Sgt. Elena Gonzalez and Sgt. Christine Savage, settled lawsuits in 2014 for $330,000 a piece. The township admitted no wrongdoing in the settlements.

They have each filed new lawsuits against the township, alleging the harassment never abated. A 2013 report by an outside consultant, Gregory K. Turner, said their claims were largely unfounded.

The township paid $27,000 for the Turner report, which was kept secret until 2018. The report's findings generated criticism from several community groups, including the NAACP.

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Both Gonzalez and Savage backed Davis at a 2016 township committee meeting.

"He was traveling to a fatal motor vehicle accident. There was a woman dying in the car. I want to make sure you understand that Officer Davis was not the only one that was going 130 mph. There were three other officers in violation of policies and procedures," Gonzalez said during public comments to the committee.

Gonzalez said none of the other officers was disciplined.

"He stood up and defended Sgt. Christine Savage and I in an action against the municipality for discrimination, sexual harassment ... Please look at this from an impartial view," she said, as you can see in the video below.

Davis makes $121,700 per year, according to government records posted on DataUniverse.com, the public records site for APP.com.

Austin Bogues; 732-634-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com