Amount is $12,357, pending Supreme Court ruling
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE —A recent appellate court ruling has sharply reduced the legal fees that a fired Lambertville police officer can attempt to collect from the city.
Furthermore, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division has ruled the city does not have to pay Sgt. 1st Class Michael O’Rourke’s attorney’s fees while the state Supreme Court decides if it will hear the case.
The city is asking the Supreme Court to reverse an earlier appellate court ruling that reinstated Sgt. O’Rourke to the Lambertville police force.
Sgt. O’Rourke had 17 years on the job in April 2007 when the city fired him for defiance of a direct order, insubordination, negligence, conduct unbecoming an officer and other charges.
The case has taken several turns, seeming to directly pit Sgt. O’Rourke against Police Director Bruce Cocuzza, who conducted the internal affairs investigation. Sgt. O’Rourke was the highest ranking uniformed officer, while Mr. Cocuzza is considered a civilian employee of the city.
In October, the appellate court ruled that Sgt. O’Rourke should be reinstated because Mr. Cocuzza’s investigation was flawed. The court said the police director was not authorized to conduct an internal affairs investigation, and he “failed to conduct the investigation in a fair and objective manner.”
The city disagreed and asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court has not yet said if it will.
Mr. Cocuzza’s investigation found that Sgt. O’Rourke conducted unauthorized background checks on five of the department’s civilian employees in August 2006, including Mr. Cocuzza.
Sgt. O’Rourke conducted the checks after Mr. Cocuzza specifically told him not to. Mr. Cocuzza testified in a hearing before the City Council in 2007 that he wanted to consult with state police and the city’s attorney to ensure the checks would not violate employees’ privacy rights.
During the same hearing, Sgt. O’Rourke testified he believed he had the authority to conduct the background checks, despite Mr. Cocuzza’s directive to refrain from doing so.
In November, Sgt. O’Rourke asked the Appellate Division to award him $55,777.66 in legal fees. The court denied it in December without prejudice, leaving the door open for the officer to reapply at a later date.
Sgt. O’Rourke reapplied to the court on Dec. 22 for $17,945.
The court reduced the amount to $12,357, pending the Supreme Court ruling.
An earlier appellate court ruling spared the city from paying him back wages pending the Supreme Court ruling. At the time of his dismissal, Sgt. O’Rourke’s salary was $76,000 a year.

