Latest news with #NorthBergenPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
New Jersey police officers accuse chief of turning department into 'animal house': docs
The police chief of the North Bergen Police Department in New Jersey will be sued by five subordinates after being accused of turning the department into a den of debauchery. Notice to sue documents viewed by Fox News Digital accuse Police Chief Robert Farley, a 20-year veteran of the force, of allegedly defecating on the floor of the office multiple times, spiking the office coffee pot with Viagra and Adderall and poking an officer in the genitals with a hypodermic needle. The office was described as an "animal house." The chief, who one officer described as "moody and aggressive," was also accused of sending packages containing gay pride flags and sex toys to his officers' homes. In New Jersey, a notice to sue is required before filing a lawsuit. Half A Dozen Injured After Tractor-trailer, Dump Truck Slam Into Nj Target Officers Rasheed Siyam, Christopher Bowen and Michael F. Derin; Derin's son, Detective Michael A. Derin; and Lt. Alex Guzman all plan to sue Farley. Read On The Fox News App Aside from the claims of overall impropriety and indecency, the men have made other individual claims against the chief. Guzman said he is up for promotion to captain but that Farley has illegally refused to promote him despite an immediate need for a new captain. That allegedly stems from an accusation by Farley that Guzman filed open records requests on Farley, which Guzman denies. Bowen also claimed he was denied a promotion in retaliation by the chief. Town's Former Police Chief Explains Why Entire Department Resigned Michael F. Derin's complaint said he was terminated after making allegations of corruption within the department. Siyam said he was a victim of retaliation over those claims, too, and that Farley directed racial slurs at him. Michael A. Derin sayid Farley forced him to write a recommendation on behalf of Farley's daughter to her high school, imploring them to allow Farley's daughter into a culinary class she wanted to take. Her high school is Derin's alma mater. Derin also said that the chief made him complete school work for his daughter. One of the soon-to-be plaintiffs said he is seeing a psychologist after the workplace harassment. Fox News Digital reached out to the North Bergen mayor's office and attorneys for the township, as well as attorneys for the complainants. The North Bergen Police Department referred Fox News Digital to the Hudson County Prosecutor's office when attempting to contact Farley. That office did not immediately return a request for article source: New Jersey police officers accuse chief of turning department into 'animal house': docs
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Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Miami Herald
Police chief pooped on floor and spiked office coffee with Adderall, Viagra, NJ cops say
A New Jersey police chief is accused of extensive workplace misconduct that includes defecating on the floor, sticking an officer's genitals with a needle, shaving body hair onto staff desks, and adding prescription drugs to office coffee. North Bergen Police Chief Robert Farley, who became chief in February 2024, is accused of harassing and mistreating officers and other employees through extreme measures, including multiple incidents that harmed staff, an officer's pets and another officer's 1-year-old son, according to legal documents. The accusations are made by four North Bergen police officers and a former officer who says he was wrongly fired after reporting 'blatant corruption' within the department. They filed separate notices of claims against the township, which are filed before a lawsuit. The North Bergen Police Department didn't immediately return McClatchy News' request for comment March 27. A North Bergen spokesperson told that the accusations are 'false and outrageous,' adding that the township has 'full confidence in Chief Farley's leadership.' The township has referred the matter to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, according to the spokesperson, reported. Attorney Patrick P. Toscano Jr., of the Toscano Law Firm in Fairfield, New Jersey, represents the officers in their claims against Farley. He believes the chief should be removed from his position, Toscano said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News on March 27. 'As a trial attorney for some 39 years I have made my living with words, yet I cannot find the precise word which would adequately describe this entire situation,' Toscano said. Accused of exposing himself, spiking coffee One of the officers who filed a claim, a lieutenant whom Farley assigned as his administrative aide when he became chief, said he's worked with Farley for the past 20 years. 'Farley has fostered a workplace environment characterized by inappropriate behavior and so-called 'practical jokes' that are demeaning, demoralizing and targeted,' the officer wrote in his claim. 'These actions not only fail to meet the standards of professional conduct but also appear intended to humiliate me and other victims.' The officer's claim lists specific examples of misconduct. He describes Farley repeatedly exposing his genitals to employees after using the bathroom, dropping his pants and defecating 'on the floor in front of his entire office staff,' and defecating in a trash can and on the bathroom floor. Farley left feces in the trash can for several days, then cleaned it after the officer and a police captain kept urging him to do so, the claim says. The officer also wrote that Farley used medication to cause harm. Farley added Adderall and Viagra to coffee that was available for staff, drugging them 'without their consent' as a result, according to the officer. Farley also once used medication to poison a police corporal's fish, killing all of his pets, the officer wrote in the claim. Chief caused officer to bleed, claim says In the claim filed by the former North Bergen officer, who says he was illegally fired, he details how Farley caused him to bleed in August 2024. After Farley assigned the man to work as another one of his administrative aides, Farley chased him around his office with a hypodermic needle in August 2024, he wrote in the claim. After 'cornering me in the filing area with no further room for retreat, he sticks a ... (hypodermic) needle through my jeans into the tip of penis,' the claim says. 'The incident draws blood and further humiliates me when I later had to explain the incident to my wife,' the claim continues. 'When I told chief Farley I was unhappy with his actions, he told me that I didn't know how to take a joke.' Harassment against family members According to the officer who's worked with Farley for years, Farley has harassed and harmed his family. Farley mailed 'inappropriate items,' including sex toys and masturbation cream, to his home, where he lives with his wife and children, his claim says. The officer wrote that Farley made his 1-year-old son become 'very ill' during an incident witnessed by other officers. He accused Farley of hiding a ghost pepper inside a burger that his son then ate, causing him to get sick. This officer's claim details several more incidents of misconduct, including vandalism and outbursts. Farley has damaged officers' personal property, ripped a TV off an office wall, broke pens and stained officers' uniforms with ink, according to the claim. 'On several occasions, he has thrown eggs in fits of anger,' the officer wrote in the claim. 'I have photos documenting many of these incidents as evidence,' the claim says. Another officer's claim attaches multiple photos as exhibits. One of the images shows Farley shirtless, leaning over a person's desk with his arm extended. 'Chief Farley shaving himself,' reads a handwritten note accompanying the photo, with an arrow pointing to Farley. In his statement to McClatchy News, Toscano said, 'Let's just say that it certainly would be in the best interests of the citizens of North Bergen and the North Bergen Police Department if Mr. Farley was relieved of his duties and disarmed, effective immediately.'
Fox News
27-03-2025
- Fox News
New Jersey police officers accuse chief of turning department into 'animal house': docs
The police chief of the North Bergen Police Department in New Jersey will be sued by five subordinates after being accused of turning the department into a den of debauchery. Notice to sue documents viewed by Fox News Digital accuse Police Chief Robert Farley, a 20-year veteran of the force, of allegedly defecating on the floor of the office multiple times, spiking the office coffee pot with Viagra and Adderall and poking an officer in the genitals with a hypodermic needle. The office was described as an "animal house." The chief, who one officer described as "moody and aggressive," was also accused of sending packages containing gay pride flags and sex toys to his officers' homes. In New Jersey, a notice to sue is required before filing a lawsuit. Officers Rasheed Siyam, Christopher Bowen and Michael F. Derin; Derin's son, Detective Michael A. Derin; and Lt. Alex Guzman all plan to sue Farley. Aside from the claims of overall impropriety and indecency, the men have made other individual claims against the chief. Guzman said he is up for promotion to captain but that Farley has illegally refused to promote him despite an immediate need for a new captain. That allegedly stems from an accusation by Farley that Guzman filed open records requests on Farley, which Guzman denies. Bowen also claimed he was denied a promotion in retaliation by the chief. Michael F. Derin's complaint said he was terminated after making allegations of corruption within the department. Siyam said he was a victim of retaliation over those claims, too, and that Farley directed racial slurs at him. Michael A. Derin sayid Farley forced him to write a recommendation on behalf of Farley's daughter to her high school, imploring them to allow Farley's daughter into a culinary class she wanted to take. Her high school is Derin's alma mater. Derin also said that the chief made him complete school work for his daughter. One of the soon-to-be plaintiffs said he is seeing a psychologist after the workplace harassment. Fox News Digital reached out to the North Bergen mayor's office and attorneys for the township, as well as attorneys for the complainants. The North Bergen Police Department referred Fox News Digital to the Hudson County Prosecutor's office when attempting to contact Farley. That office did not immediately return a request for comment.
NBC News
26-03-2025
- NBC News
N.J. police chief accused of turning department into 'Animal House'
A New Jersey police chief has been accused by five of his officers of turning the department into an "Animal House" rife with harassment against his employees, including incidents of him defecating on the office floor, spiking the office coffee pot with Adderall and Viagra, and jabbing one officer in the penis with a hypodermic needle. Chief Robert Farley, a longtime veteran of the North Bergen Police Department, is also accused of harassing officers outside of the office by sending packages containing sex toys and Gay pride flags to their homes, as well as retaliating against them by denying promotions and assigning officers to the night shift, according to notices to sue that have the officers submitted to the Township of North Bergen. To file a lawsuit in New Jersey, a person must first submit a notice indicating their intent to sue. 'Farley has fostered a workplace environment characterized by inappropriate behavior and so-called 'practical jokes' that are demeaning, demoralizing, and targeted,' one of the accusing officers, Lt. Alex Guzman, wrote. 'These actions not only fail to meet the standards of professional conduct but also appear intended to humiliate me and other victims.' The other officers who have filed notices to sue are Michael F. Derin, a retired North Bergen PD detective who worked for Farley in an administrative role; his son, Detective Michael A. Derin; and Officers Rasheed Siyam and Christopher Bowen. 'They're not talking now because they fear retaliation,' their attorney, Patrick Toscano, told NBC News. Toscano also asked the New Jersey state Attorney General's Office in a letter Tuesday to 'immediately take over the day-to-day operations of the North Bergen Police Department.' The AG's office declined to comment. 'I have represented thousands of police officers over the years,' Toscano said. 'I have never seen anything like this. There's just no other way of saying it.' Farley, whose father and grandfather served as deputy chiefs of the North Bergen Police Department, was sworn in as chief by Mayor Nicholas Sacco in February 2024. Farley did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment. The notices to sue name Farley, the township and the police department as defendants. 'The Township of North Bergen has full confidence in Chief Robert Farley's leadership of the North Bergen Police Department and we strongly deny these false and outrageous allegations made by disgruntled officers who are resorting to attacking the reputation of a dedicated public servant to further their own selfish goals,' a town spokesperson said in a statement. 'In order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest and because we are fully confident that these claims will be proven false, we have proactively referred them to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office for review.' NBC News has reached out to the prosecutor's office for confirmation. When asked for comment, Sacco's assistant asked that the request go through the town's spokesperson. Farley, who earns more than $228,000 a year, heads a police force that has 140 uniformed officers who patrol a 5.57 square mile township of some 60,000 residents that sits directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan and recorded two homicides last year, the most since 2016, according to the police department's records. The allegations against Farley were first reported by NJ Advance Media. Michael F. Derin said in his notice that he and Farley had been friends until Farley became chief and that from then on he began playing pranks on the officers, like setting off car alarms and putting ink on door handles. Soon, Derin wrote, the pranks took a darker turn, like in August 2024 when he found himself being chased 'around the office' by Farley. 'After cornering me in the filing area with no further room for retreat, he sticks a hypodermic needle through my jeans into the tip of my penis,' he wrote. Derin wrote that when he protested, Farley 'told me I don't know how to take a joke.' 'From this point on, the chief creates a hostile work environment,' Derin wrote. 'The chief would shave his body hair on peoples' property, their persons, and their food. He was also fond of scraping fluids from his underwear onto people seated in the chief's office.' Derin's son wrote that he witnessed Farley lace the communal coffee pot with prescription drugs and then wait for somebody to pour themselves a cup of the doctored coffee. He said he started getting his own coffee from a machine 'because I did not feel it was safe to drink from the pot anymore.' He also said that he was forced to do schoolwork for Farley's daughter, including writing a research paper on her behalf that took several days during work to complete. Guzman wrote that Farley, 'on several occasions, pulled his pants down and defecated on the floor in front of his office staff.' 'He also left feces on the bathroom floor, apparently with the intent of having someone unknowingly step on it,' Guzman wrote. Siyam and Bowen wrote they were denied promotions or forced to work night shifts. Bowen also noted that officers, both under Farley and his predecessors, were pressured to write parking tickets 'as a way to generate revenue for the township.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
NJ police chief accused of pooping near desks, spiking coffee with Viagra
A New Jersey police chief is accused of defecating by desks, spiking others' coffee with Viagra and other harassment. North Bergen Police Department chief Robert Farley, who was sworn in as chief in February 2024, is the subject of a complaint by five officers who are planning to sue the township for Farley's alleged retaliation, discrimination, sexual misconduct and harassment, reported Wednesday. The complaint alleges a hostile workplace that includes juvenile pranks, like putting firecrackers under chairs, to acts bordering on criminal like dosing the office coffee with drugs like Viagra and Adderall and jabbing a needle into an officer's penis. Michael Derrin, a special captain with administrative duties, claims Farley chased him around the office and cornered him before '[sticking] a hypodermic needle through [his] jeans into the tip of [his] penis,' drawing blood. Derrin claims Farley would also shave and put his body hair on people and their food. Lt. Alex Guzman claims Farley exposed himself, made inappropriate comments and defecated on the floor and in garbage cans. Officer Rasheed Siyam claims to have been called racial slurs by Farley and others in the department. Officer Christopher Bowen claims he was punished with a shift change after missing arrest and traffic ticket quotas. The complainants said the abusive behavior began as soon as Farley, a 26-year veteran of the department whose father and grandfather were deputy chiefs, was appointed the top job. A state investigation is also underway after Farley was reported to the attorney general. _____
