More of the dirty laundry within the Plainsboro Police Department is going public — this time in the form of a lawsuit by a former probationary female police officer who claims she was fired after filing a sexual harassment claim against other officers in the department.
The claims of sexual harassment — referenced in a recent claim by another police officer, who is also fighting his own termination from the department — were submitted to the township by Thomas C. Jardim, of Cedar Knolls, a lawyer representing Jennifer Wittmer, 24, of Middletown. Wittmer began working as a probationary police officer in January, 2008, and was fired in December, 2008.
The claimwas filed under the state Tort Claims Act, which requires the notice to be sent to the municipality, so it can have at least six months to respond before a lawsuit is filed. Jardim said, however, that he served Plainsboro in the spring, and has not been contacted by the township or its representatives. He said he plans to file the lawsuit, either in state Superior Court or with the Federal Court, within the month.
“I dont understand what Plainsboro did in this case,” he said. “It’s clearly illegal to fire an employee after that employee complains of sexual harassment against her, and while the investigation is still going on of her claims.”
According to her claim, the sexual harassment began almost immediately after she was hired. For her initial field training, she was assigned to Corporal Scott Seitz, who she claimed had a history of discriminating against female police officers. She claimed he refused to train her as he trained male officers.
In the claim, she also details alleged accounts of sexual harassment from different police officers, including officers Adam Wurpel and Kevin Lowery. She said Wurpel urinated in a public place in such a deliberate manner so that she would see him do so, and that Lowery began harassing her by continuously calling her to ask her out.
Wittmer claimed Lowery became persistent in pursuing a romantic relationship with her, including sending her text messages and leaving her voicemails, and that he became increasingly angry and nasty to her when she kept turning him down. She told him to stop calling her all together, and he continued calling and texting her at all hours of the night and even changed his schedule so that he could work at the same time as she did, the claim alleges. Eventually Officer Jason Mariano — who has also filed a separate claim against the department for allegedly being unfairly targeted for sticking up for Wittmer — told Lowery to stop bothering her, the claim stated.
Lowery did, but then began spreading rumors that Wittmer and Mariano were having an affair. According to the claim, there were also a series of other incidents that followed. Sergeant Jason Hanley allegedly told her to call out license plates for look ups into dispatch instead of doing them himself on an in-car computer so that “he could hear her voice on the radio.” The claim also alleges that Wurpel showed her several pornographic images on his cell phone on several occasions, including one incident when he put his cell phone in her face when she told him she did not want to see them.
When she was given a poor evaluation in September, 2008, which she was told included input from the entire department, she told Seitz about the sexual harassment from Lowery, and that she felt it was causing malicious damage to her reputation, the claim states. Shortly after, she was told her probationary period would be extended by three months, so that instead of ending in January, 2009, it would end in April, 2009.
At that time, she said she told then-chief Elizabeth Bondurant about the harassment, but Bondurant told her to “deal with it,” the claim states.
When Chief Rick Furda took over as chief in October, 2008, she was told that the extension was being rescinded and that she was being transferred to another squad including Sergeant Jay Duffy, Corporal George Cier, and officers Richard Colucci and Jason Mandato, where she told Cier and Duffy about how she had been treated on the prior squad.
In addition, Corporal Nicholas Procaccini — the other officer who has filed a claim against the township in connection with his own termination — told Duffy about Lowery and Wurpel. Duffy immediately questioned Wittmer and made a formal complaint as part of his obligations as a supervisor, she claimed. This launched an internal affairs investigation.
In an unrelated internal affairs investigation in December, 2008, Wittmer was questioned by Lieutenant Chris Weidman about her patrol assignment the day before Thanksgiving. He repeatedly asked her about how she conducted her area checks and asked why there were not a lot of miles on her vehicle, she claimed.
Shortly after the interview, she was told the township was not going to make her a permanent employee. She said Furda would not give her a reason.
“It is Ms. Wittmer’s belief that this termination was in direct retaliation for her reporting the sex discrimination and the sexual harassment,” the claim states.
Furda declined to comment on the matter. Wittmer, represented by Thomas C. Jardim of Cedar Knolls, is seeking $1 million in damages in the claim, which names the township, police department, Furda, Seitz, Hanley, Wurpel, Lowery, and Mandato as defendants.
The lawsuit is the latest in the series of alleged controversies to take place behind closed doors at the Plainsboro Police Department. For decades, anonymous letters to the media have highlighted tales of labor unrest, favoritism, work slowndowns by officers, battles with police administration, and more. That all came to a head last month during a hearing over Procaccini’s termination.
The police department is pursuing Procaccini’s termination based on four charges: he was late for duty; he did not follow protocol when making motor vehicle stops; he violated procedure dealing with sick leave; and he violated policy in using the department’s E-mail system. Central to the township’s argument is that there are strict laws and regulations governing police departments in New Jersey, and that Procaccini, who served as the president of the Plainsboro PBA for 14 years, violated those laws.
Procaccini’s attorney, however, alleged that the charges are for behavior exhibited by many officers in the department and that his client is unfairly being targeted as a result of defending Wittmer in her sexual harassment complaint.
Procaccini has also filed a lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court against the township, the police department, and Furda. The suit alleges that the township and its police department violated the state law against discrimination for retaliation by suspending him in July and then terminating him because he defended Wittmer. “Once it became clear to Chief Furda and the Plainsboro Police Department that Mr. Procaccini strongly supported Officer Wittmer and denounced the actions of the department,” the relatiation and harassment began, the lawsuit alleges.
Officer Mariano, of Allentown, has also filed a claim, stating he was also harassed as a result of his support for Wittmer. In his claim, Mariano corroborates Wittmer’s claims against Lowery and the rumors that were spread. Since Mariano spoke up for Wittmer, he has endured harassment, including an internal affairs review of Mariano’s assigned vehicle, where numerous issues with the vehicle were subsequently investigated, his claim alleges.
Like Wittmer, Mariano is seeking $1 million in his claim, citing emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees as a result of the harassment he sustained. According to Procaccini, Mariano is still on the force, but has decided to submit his retirement papers as a result of an injury he sustained.
