Five of his officers have accused a New Jersey police chief of transforming the department into a “Animal House” where he harasses his staff.
Among other things, he has been known to defecate on the office floor, contaminate the coffee pot with Adderall and Viagra, and poke one officer in the penis with a hypodermic needle.
According to notices to sue that the officers have submitted to the Township of North Bergen, Chief Robert Farley, a 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.
Farley is also accused of retaliating against officers by denying promotions and assigning officers to the night shift.
A notice of intent must be submitted before a lawsuit can be filed in New Jersey.
“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 stated. “These actions not only fail to meet the standards of professional conduct but also appear intended to humiliate me and other victims.”
Officers Rasheed Siyam and Christopher Bowen, his son, Detective Michael A. Derin, and Michael F. Derin, a retired North Bergen Police Department detective who served Farley in an administrative capacity, are among the other officers who have filed notices to suit.
“They’re not talking now because they fear retaliation,” their attorney, Patrick Toscano stated.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, Toscano also requested that the state attorney general’s office in New Jersey “accelerate the day-to-day operations of the North Bergen Police Department.”
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“I have represented thousands of police officers over the years,” Toscano stated. “I have never seen anything like this. There’s just no other way of saying it.”
Farley was sworn in as chief by Mayor Nicholas Sacco in February 2024. Farley’s father and grandfather were both deputy chiefs of the North Bergen Police Department.
Farley, the township, and the police department are named as defendants in the notifications to suit.
“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,” according to town’s spokesperson.
“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.”
Farley, who makes over $228,000 annually, is in charge of 140 uniformed police officers who patrol a township of about 60,000 people, covering an area of 5.57 square miles, directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
According to police department records, there were two homicides last year, the most since 2016.
In his notice, Michael F. Derin stated that he and Farley had been friends prior to Farley taking over as chief, and that he then started pulling practical jokes on the officers, such as putting ink on doorknobs and setting off car alarms.
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Derin wrote that the jokes soon became more sinister, such as in August 2024 when he was being followed “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 stated.
According to Derin, Farley “told me I don’t know how to take a joke” when he objected.
“From this point on, the chief creates a hostile work environment,” Derin stated. “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.”
According to what Derin’s son wrote, he saw Farley add prescription pills to the common coffee pot and then wait for someone to pour themselves a cup of the tainted coffee. He claimed that “because I did not feel it was safe to drink from the pot anymore,” he began making his own coffee using a machine.
Additionally, he claimed that he was compelled to complete Farley’s daughter’s schooling, which included composing a research report for her that required several days of labor.
According to Guzman, Farley “pulled his pants down and defecated on the floor in front of his office staff on multiple occasions.”
Guzman also wrote, “He left feces on the bathroom floor, apparently with the intent that someone would step on it without realizing it.”
Siyam and Bowen claimed that they were either made to work night shifts or refused promotions. Bowen added that cops were under pressure to issue parking citations “as a way to generate revenue for the township” under Farley and his predecessors.
This Information has been sourced from NBC News.
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