Three Millville officers allege
police misconduct
By THOMAS BARLAS
MILLVILLE — A trio of local
law-enforcement officers have stung the Police Department in the past year and
a half with allegations that would indicate the agency is in turmoil.
The officers allege everything
in their Superior Court lawsuits from unwarranted disciplinary action to
ticket-fixing on behalf of senior staff.
Perhaps the most serious
allegations are contained in a lawsuit filed recently by Detective Jeremy
Miller, who charges that some Police Department detectives have closed
burglary, robbery, sexual assault, shooting and aggravated assault cases before
investigations into those crimes were complete.
City officials contend the
lawsuits contain only allegations of improper action.
However, City Commission in
July agreed to pay $65,000 in legal fees to the attorney representing Patrolman
Edmund Ansara in his lawsuit. The commission found that Ansara was disciplined
under departmental charges that were ultimately found to be unsustainable.
Police Chief Thomas Haas did
not respond to a request by The Press of Atlantic City for comment regarding
the lawsuits and whether the allegations contained in those lawsuits are
damaging public confidence in his department.
Mayor Michael Santiago said he
was told by city legal staff not to comment on the lawsuits. Santiago, who took
office in January, is a former local police officer who serves as City
Commission’s public safety director.
Former Commissioner David
Vanaman, who served as public safety director before Santiago, said he is
certain the lawsuits are affecting the public’s perception of the Police
Department.
“And it’s not good,” Vanaman
said.
While Vanaman would not comment
directly about the lawsuits and their impact on local law-enforcement efforts,
he said there are “many good officers in the Millville Police Department.” He
also said that a review of the Police Department performed several months ago
resulted in “no negative reports.” He would provide no additional information
about the review.
“I’ve said more than I should,”
he said.
Miller is represented by
Northfield attorney Michelle Douglass, who said she has handled many cases
involving police departments in more than two decades of practicing law. One
thread that runs through the lawsuits seems to be a lack of management training
on behalf of upper-level officers who handle disciplinary matters, she said.
“Discipline should be for
teaching,” Douglass said. “Not in a police department. Discipline is totally
viewed as punishment. These supervisors throw the book at police officers,
charging them with everything under the sun.”
“It’s my way or the highway,”
she said. “There is a power control element from the higher-ups that causes
resentment a lot of times. Oftentimes, it’s abused.”
Douglass said the result is
often a “fiercely scorched-earth kind of legal action.”
Santiago disagrees, saying
police officers do undergo supervisory training. He would not comment further
on that issue.
Along with the lawsuits filed
by Ansara and Miller, the Police Department is defending itself against legal
action taken by Lt. Ed. Zadroga. All of the lawsuits are linked in some way.
Ansara and Zadroga alleged they
were unfairly disciplined and harassed for providing information about an
alleged ticket-fixing incident involving one of their captains.
Ansara allegedly followed
orders to void a traffic ticket he wrote on Nov. 7, 2011. Zadroga claims to
have told the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office about the incident two
weeks later. Ansara eventually gave testimony about the alleged ticket fix to
the Prosecutor’s Office.
The person who received the
ticket for allegedly running the red light at Main and Buck streets is not
identified by name in either lawsuit. Zadroga’s lawsuit identifies the person
as the daughter of a retired police officer and a family friend of the police
captain who ordered the ticket voided.
Ansara stated in his lawsuit
that he wound up being suspended from Feb. 27, 2012, through March 17, 2013. He
further charged that he was “humiliated by being pegged as the individual
making up an alleged ticket-fixing scheme” and that he had “inappropriate
comments continually directed at him by supervisors.”
In his lawsuit, Zadroga states
that he has endured “a steady barrage of retaliation” because he reported the
alleged ticket-fixing to the Prosecutor's Office. That included having a
stuffed rat placed in front of his office door and “being targeted for
unwarranted discipline.”
Along with alleging that some
detectives were not fully investigating cases, Miller claims in his lawsuit
that he was treated unfairly after refusing to take sides in ongoing disputes
involving Zadroga and Haas. Part of that dispute involved an alleged effort by
Zadroga to remove Haas as police chief, Miller’s lawsuit reads.
Miller, a 10-year-veteran of
the Police Department, alleges his decision to stay neutral prompted Zadroga to
unfairly give him more cases to investigate than other detectives, the lawsuit
states.
