

ELIZABETH — When Elizabeth Police Lt. Jaime Colon appears today in a disciplinary hearing, he will be asked about when he stood before a roomful of officers at the beginning of a Friday evening shift in early June.

As he went through his roll call announcements that night, he was sporadically interrupted by laughter from the officers.

Confused at first, he later realized it was because an off-duty sergeant — apparently intoxicated — was stumbling around in the door behind him, giving colleagues a bit of a show, Colon said Wednesday.

It happened a few times, the lieutenant said, before a big finale: Sgt. James Kearns, wearing shorts and an orange T-shirt, walked to the doorway, turned his back to the room and dropped his drawers, mooning his fellow officers.

"The room erupted in laughter," said Colon, who turned to see Kearns as his shorts were almost back up at his waist.

The lieutenant said he learned after the meeting exactly what happened, and he wasn’t amused. He confronted Kearns near the front desk, telling him to leave the building. He offered the sergeant a ride to his mother’s house, which was nearby, but Kearns walked out the door and didn’t come back. Colon thought that was the end of the matter.

But now the incident, detailed in internal affairs documents provided to The Star-Ledger, has raised problems for Colon, a 23-year-veteran who is facing disciplinary charges in the office of police Director James Cosgrove. He is accused of violating department rules of conduct by not notifying his superior about what transpired.

The matter is also raising new questions about a department that had its reputation stained years ago by reports of out-of-control drinking parties. Those included one that led to a demotion for Kearns, a 44-year-old former lieutenant, who was accused of smashing the window of a decommissioned police car. Still suspended because of the June 8 incident, Kearns declined to comment Wednesday.

Colon, 44, who says he is No. 1 on a list of candidates for the rank of captain, accuses the department of trumping up the charges to prevent him from being promoted. He says Cosgrove has a vendetta against him, and the city has failed to name any new captains despite a shortage — even as significant changes were made in other ranks. The department has more deputy chiefs than captains, he said.

He said he doesn’t know why Cosgrove doesn’t like him, and why others haven’t backed him, but wonders if his Hispanic heritage was a factor.

Also concerned is the National Coalition of Latino Officers, which issued a statement last night about the case:

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"It is obvious that the Elizabeth Police Department unfairly targets Latinos for discipline in order to circumvent the civil service process in New Jersey," said Antonio Hernandez, the group’s president. "The work environment within the police department is hostile towards minority officers and they should report adverse conditions to the county prosecutor."

Cosgrove, who Colon’s attorneys have asked to recuse himself as hearing officer, would not discuss the case or the roll call incident Wednesday. He said he will be the hearing officer.

Colon said he didn’t think much more about the incident after Kearns left headquarters, believing it was within his purview to deal with the matter.

"Rules and regulations are extremely vague and based on past practice," he said. "I felt that what I did was more than enough to handle the situation as a tour commander," he said.

Earlier in that day, Kearns had been involved in a charity run, followed by some post-run drinks at the Knights of Columbus. He then ended up back at the department, Colon said.

The next week, Colon said, he and other officers had an intervention with Kearns where they told him he needed help. He agreed, Colon said, and sought treatment.

"At work, he’s a stellar sergeant. He’s a very good employee," Colon said. "The men and women of the department love him."

Around the same time as the intervention, the lieutenant was called into an interview with internal affairs officers about the incident. A transcript shows he was asked details about what happened, and also if he reported it to Deputy Chief John Brennan. He did not, he said. Colon left the interview still under the impression he was not a target of the investigation, he said.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that he received a preliminary notice of disciplinary action from internal affairs. "I was shocked and very disappointed," he said.

His attorneys, Patrick Toscano and Art Margeotes, say the charges have no merit and make no sense.

"They are trying to trap him in," Toscano said. "They’re trying to come up with something that says he did something wrong."

Colon has requested today’s hearing be open to the public, a decision that is his to make, according to state guidelines.

"The Attorney General’s guidelines are pretty clear that the officer can request an open hearing on department charges unless there’s some kind of extenuating circumstances," such as a confidentiality issue, said Raymond Hayducka, president of the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police. "For the most part, it’s pretty normal to have an open hearing if the officer requests it."

Cosgrove said he will most likely keep the hearing closed, but would not explain why.

"They are confidential," he said, "as far as I’m concerned."

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