Lorene Wright The Keyport Borough Council is considering three grievances filed by borough police officers charging Borough Administrator Lorene Wright with creating a hostile work environment, according to sources close to the situation.
The grievances, filed by Detective Shannon Torres, Officer Joseph Rendina and Officer Robert Aumack, were first submitted after a heated clash between Wright and borough officers in the municipal parking lot last December.
Wright was initially charged with assaulting an officer, but pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer as part of a plea deal in July.
The administrator was disciplined by the Borough Council last month, serving a oneday suspension. She was also ordered to participate in a sensitivity training course.
On Sept. 25, the governing body held a five-hour closed session meeting to discuss personnel matters and hear the three longpending grievances. The three officers testified along with Wright and Police Chief George Casaletto.
Just after midnight, Borough Attorney Gordon Litwin reopened the meeting to the public and announced that the governing body needed more time to deliberate.
“They have been discussing the matter after hearing about three hours of testimony,” he said.
“They have deliberated for almost an hour, and they have not completed their deliberations. … I assure you this is not a delaying tactic, but it is respectful of the process and an attempt by members of the Borough Council to do a thorough factfinding and reasoned process, and the decision will be rendered as soon as possible.”
No action was taken during the council’s Oct. 1 meeting.
According to Litwin’s partner Andrew Provence, the borough’s collective bargaining agreement requires the council to render a decision within 20 days of the hearing. “Ideally, we would like to have a decision made at the Tuesday [Oct. 15] meeting,” Provence said on Oct. 8. “But it’s not certain. The action is still pending. Sometimes an extension is requested. In the past, the unions have been accommodating [with those requests].”
Provence declined to comment on the substance of the grievances. Under state law, personnel matters are generally not considered to be public record.
According to sources, who asked to remain anonymous, the three officers allege that Wright has created a hostile work environment through intimidation, threats and lack of professionalism.
Wright, Casaletto and Keyport Policemen’s Benevolent Association President Robert McCartin were unavailable for comment. Lauryn Lawson, a private attorney representing the three officers, declined to comment for this story.
Council members Joy- Michele Tomczak and Kenneth McPeek recused themselves from the Sept. 25 grievance hearing, citing a potential conflict of interest.
“It was with an abundance of caution, so that there is no problem with any action that the borough takes on it,” Tomczak said. “I wouldn’t want it to become about a potential conflict and not about the issue.”
Tomczak declined to provide specifics on the potential conflict, but said it was not related to her position as borough police commissioner.
Katherine Kizun, one of nearly 10 residents who waited outside council chambers during the five-hour hearing, said she believes the council is afraid to take action.
“To me, it’s just what they have been doing all along, which is a delaying tactic,” she said. “I personally feel that the council is incapable of making a decision.”
Tensions between the Police Department and Wright have been simmering for years.
In June 2011, Wright was charged with hitting a police dispatcher’s car in the municipal parking lot and leaving the scene, but denied the allegations. The case was postponed for almost two years,and Wright was found not guilty earlier this year.
In October 2011, Wright reportedly requested access to the Police Department’s dispatch logs. Casaletto refused, saying she didn’t have the authority to do so. Then-Mayor Robert McLeod denounced Casaletto’s response as an “overly broad interpretation” of state statute, and in January 2012 the council amended its laws governing the organizational and command structure of the Police Department, allowing the borough administrator to examine the operations and performance of the police force at any time.
On Dec. 10, Wright was exiting her car in the same municipal parking lot when her car mirror struck the mirror of Torres’ car. Borough police requested her license and vehicle documents, but Wright refused. According to the police report, the administrator then allegedly became disorderly and assaulted Torres.
Wright denied the charges and pursued a civil rights claim against the Police Department and responding officers for use of excessive force, which she said caused an injury to her shoulder.
On July 24, as part of a plea deal, Wright agreed to drop the suit and pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer, a borough ordinance violation.