New Jersey Police Chief Accused of Violent and Vulgar Harassment at Work
Police officers in northern New Jersey have accused their chief of engaging in a campaign of strange and violent harassment, including stabbing his assistant with a hypodermic needle, shaving his body hair onto workers' desks, pouring prescription drugs into the office coffee pot and defecating repeatedly on the floor of police headquarters.
Descriptions of angry and occasionally revolting behavior by Robert Farley, chief of the police department in North Bergen, N.J., were included in court filings by five officers giving notice of their intent to sue the township. The notices were first reported by NJ.com. Under state law, the municipality has six months to investigate the claims, or possibly settle them, before the officers can file a lawsuit.
'I've never seen anything this bizarre in all my life,' said Patrick Toscano, the lawyer representing the police officers.
In a statement, Philip Swibinski, a spokesman for the township, said that Chief Farley 'denies the allegations and looks forward to continuing to serve the people of North Bergen as he has his entire career in law enforcement.'
In a biographical statement on the police department's website, Chief Farley described himself as a lifelong resident of North Bergen whose father and grandfather served as deputy police chiefs there.
'I am proud to serve this diverse community, and look forward to continued collaboration with our community to deliver proactive, efficient and professional services to prioritize public safety and quality of life,' he said.
The allegations of abuse were sent to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey attorney general for investigation, said Sofia Quintanar, a spokeswoman for the township. By longstanding practice, the attorney general's office does not confirm or deny the existence of pending investigations, said Michael Symons, a spokesman for the office.
Chief Farley and all five officers remain employed by the police department, Mr. Toscano said.
In a statement, Ms. Quintanar urged people not to rush to judgment, saying that the township would respect the outcome of any investigation, but that 'at this point none of these allegations have been proven to be true.'
Ms. Quintanar said that the dispute in North Bergen arose after Chief Farley changed the department's overtime policies in ways that reduced several officers' extra pay.
'It's highly suspicious that these allegations have only come to light after Chief Farley instituted these reforms,' she said.
In their filings, none of the officers mentioned lost overtime pay.
'None of the five officer claims has anything whatsoever to do with overtime,' Mr. Toscano said.
All five accused the chief of retaliating against them after they complained about other issues. Officer Rasheed Siyam, who is Palestinian, said in his notice that he was the victim of retaliation after he reported that superiors had called him a 'terrorist' and had said that people of his racial background were responsible for 9/11.
Officer Michael F. Derin said in his notice that after an argument with a superior, he drove to the state attorney general's office to file a complaint in person. As he waited to speak with a member of the attorney general's staff, Officer Derin said, he received a phone call from a superior notifying him that he had been fired.
'The retaliation for reporting this blatant corruption within the department could not have been more obvious,' Officer Derin said.
He said in the notice that he and Chief Farley had been 'best friends.' In December 2023, he said, they vacationed together with two other members of the police department in the Caribbean.
When Chief Farley was named to the department's top job, in February 2024, he promoted Officer Derin to become one of his administrative aides, the officer said. Months later, Chief Farley cornered Officer Derin in the office. The chief stabbed him in the genitals with a hypodermic needle, which pierced his jeans and drew blood, Officer Derin wrote in his notice.
When he complained, Officer Derin said, the chief 'told me that I didn't know how to take a joke.'
On several occasions Chief Farley shaved his body hair and dropped the hair onto desks in the office, three of the officers said.
He also defecated on the floor and in a trash can, three officers said.
Officer Derin's son Michael C. Derin is also a North Bergen police officer. In their complaints, Lieutenant Alex Guzman and the younger Officer Derin said that Chief Farley had spiked the office coffee pot with Adderall and Viagra. He also repeatedly placed hot peppers and hot sauce in the microwave, three officers said, causing such intense fumes that in one case a lieutenant was taken to a hospital for treatment and the fire department was called to ventilate the building.
When he became angry, several officers said, Chief Farley was especially vicious. He threw eggs and staplers, broke picture frames and pulled a television off the wall and smashed it, officers said.
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