Neptune pays $45,000 to defend officials in 3 cop lawsuits

NEPTUNE - The township has approved spending an additional $30,000 to defend two top officials named as defendants in three separate lawsuits involving the police department.

The appropriation brings the total cost of legal bills for the two officials to $45,000, according to Municipal Clerk Rick Cuttrell.

The two officials are Chief Financial Officer Michael Bascom and Police Chief James Hunt, named along with the township in lawsuits brought by Neptune Sgt. Christine Savage, former Sgt. Elena Gonzalez and Officer Kyheem Davis.

Bascom and Hunt are both named as defendants in the suits, filed in Monmouth County Superior Court, along with the township.

The funds pay outside counsel, attorney Joseph Maddaloni Jr., to represent the pair.

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"We're protecting them while they are being tried because they are innocent until proven guilty," said Township Attorney Gene Anthony, while answering questions about the resolutions authorizing the funds Monday evening.

Anthony said the township's insurance carrier appointed an attorney to represent the township on basic claims of the suit, but because the plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages against Hunt and Bascom, which the insurance carrier does not cover, the township was compelled to hire separate counsel for the two.

"We don’t pay for anything if they are held liable for punitive damages," Anthony told the Press.

Bascom served as the township's police director until this summer when the township committee moved oversight of the police force to a three-person committee, comprised of Mayor Nicholas Williams, Committeeman Michael Brantley and Barry Colicelli, a retired Newark Police Captain.

Savage and Gonzalez filed suits in 2016 alleging they were sexually harassed and racially discriminated against during their service in the police department.

Gonzalez and Savage both settled suits against the township in 2014 alleging similar claims and received settlements of $330,000 each and promotions to sergeant.

They filed new lawsuits in 2016 alleging the harassment and discrimination never abated. Gonzalez resigned from the police department in April 2016, as you can see in the video above.

Davis filed suit against the township in 2015, after saying he was retaliated against and faced unfair discipline in unrelated incidents for supporting the two female officers in a 2013 investigation conducted by an outside consultant that looked into their allegations.

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Savage, Davis and Gonzalez are being represented by attorneys Donald F. Burke and Donald F. Burke Jr.

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