Peggy Wright

@PeggyWrightDR

Officer says his refusal to target young drivers for tickets has cost him promotions, overtime

Editor's note: Story was originally published on May 28, 2014.

A 16-year officer in the Mendham Township Police Department has filed suit against the force, alleging he has been bypassed twice for promotion and denied chances to earn overtime because he refuses to "profile" young drivers for tickets.

Patrolman Robert Wysokowski -- a 43-year-old officer who started his law enforcement career in Mendham Township in 1998 at a salary of $36,425 -- filed suit under the state's Conscientious Employee Protection Act, also known as the Whistleblower Law. As of last year, Wysokowski was earning $99,192 annually.

The complaint, made public Wednesday in Superior Court, Morristown, seeks promotion to sergeant, punitive and compensatory damages for "all lost benefits, wages and rights," and damages for emotional distress.

SEE ALSO | Mendham Twp. police chief says officers don't profile drivers http://dailyre.co/1i6ecna

Township Mayor Maribeth Thomas said she has not seen the lawsuit and was not aware one was contemplated. She said that Police Chief Steven Crawford, statutorially, has the ability to "run his office" without day-to-day interference from the committee.

"As the facts come out we will be as open as possible with the public that we can," Thomas said. Township attorney John M. Mills III declined to comment on the lawsuit and Crawford was not immediately available for comment.

Wysokowski contends that he has consistently met department standards on enforcement of motor vehicle laws but beginning in 2005, under now-former Police Chief Thomas Costanza, he was told he had to "increase his numbers." The suit says that in 2005, Crawford, who was then a sergeant but now is chief, advised Wysokowski to "seek out and target younger drivers for motor vehicle stops."

"Crawford told plaintiff that it was 'good police work,' or words to that effect," the lawsuit said. The complaint said that Wysokowski has been advised by superiors that he can always find an infraction when he stops a vehicle.

"Then-Sgt. Crawford advised plaintiff to pull over any car with a group of younger drivers/passengers who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties. Crawford went so far as to suggest to plaintiff that he should look for vehicles with a Morris County College parking permit or other identifier and to stop that vehicle," the lawsuit charged..

Wysokowski claims that he repeatedly stated that such profiling was against laws regarding probable cause to stop vehicles but was advised "to keep his mouth shut."

SEE MORE CRIME STORIES | https://www.dailyrecord.com/search/police/

The lawsuit alleges that 2005 was the beginning of a continuing pattern of retaliatory conduct that continues to this day. The alleged retaliatory actions have included reprimands for draining the battery on a police vehicle, being visited at home when he called in sick, being accused of failing to meet ticket "quotas," being denied overtime chances and being passed by for promotion twice to sergeant in the 15-officer department, including last year.

Wysokowski charged that he has been written up unfairly multiple times, for allegedly being late for work and even for giving juveniles summonses for local ordinance violations for being in a park after dark. And through it all, he said, the pressure to meet quotas is applied.

"Defendants continue to encourage officers to write as many summonses and effectuate motor vehicle stops regardless of whether probable cause exists, including a quota implemented in or about November 2013 whereby patrolmen assigned to a detail were required to write 15 tickets in a four-hour span. According to (a sergeant), if an officer did not issue the 15 summonses, then that officer would not be eligible for overtime," the lawsuit said.

He also charged that superiors "systematically train" younger officers to shine lights into moving vehicles to determine the age of drivers and passengers.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com

SEE RELATED:

Ex-Washington Township police officer files lawsuit over alleged radio dispatch failure http://dailyre.co/1gYDU78

SEE MORE NEW JERSEY NEWS | https://www.dailyrecord.com/news/new-jersey/