EDISON — Mayor Thomas Lankey announced last week that he had terminated the employment of township police Patrolman Anthony Sarni.
According to the mayor’s office, Sarni, 39, was fired based on disciplinary charges police Chief Thomas Bryan issued against him in 2013, including allegations that Sarni provided misleading statements to Internal Affairs detectives.
“I fully support the mayor’s decision to terminate Officer Sarni. The Lankey Administration and my command staff consistently work to enhance the Edison Police Department’s professionalism, reputation and public image,” Bryan said. “Anything less than termination for Officer Sarni would be counterproductive to our efforts.”
Last week, an independent hearing officer recommended a dismissal of charges against the 11-year officer. But Lankey said he decided, with full support of counsel, to terminate Sarni, who had been suspended with pay from his $120,000 job since Bryan filed the charges.
The charges stem from an incident on Sept. 11 and 12, 2012. On the night of Sept. 11, Sarni and Patrolman Mark Ianni investigated a 911 call about a fire extinguisher discharge at the Extended Stay America hotel on Fieldcrest Drive.
The investigation included speaking with a female guest of the hotel whose room had been damaged by the fire extinguisher. She filed a complaint a little over a month later about Sarni’s behavior.
Detective Sgt. Thomas Errico and Lt. Joseph Shannon (now a captain) of the department’s Internal Affairs Unit questioned Sarni nearly a year later for an administrative investigation into the complaint.
According to the transcript, Sarni at least initially denied much of what was in the hotel guest’s complaint. She said on his first visit, Sarni saw a bag of lingerie, as well as marijuana, in the room, and encouraged the guest to model the lingerie for him, saying if she didn’t comply, he would use the marijuana against her.
She told police he came back to her room when his shift ended around 2 a.m., and coerced her to model some lingerie but she refused him sex and he left.
For his part, Sarni told Errico he and Ianni had visited the woman the first time to speak with her about the incident. The conversation between Sarni and the woman had turned personal, however, focusing on her children, the distance across the country she had traveled to Edison and shopping, according to Sarni.
He said because her items were damaged from the fire extinguisher discharge, he urged her to change rooms.
Sarni told the investigators he returned to the hotel in uniform after his shift to ensure that she had changed rooms. While there, he talked with her, then left, he said. Sarni confirmed that he had sent the woman text messages between the visits and after the incident.
According to Errico, Ianni gave a statement that at least in part supported the woman’s story regarding what happened when the two had initially visited the room. Ianni was not present when Sarni later re- turned to the hotel, and the woman expressly said Ianni behaved completely appropriately toward her.
The story mismatch prompted investigators to urge Sarni to be truthful.
“Sometimes not being honest is worse than whatever might have taken place that night,” Shannon told Sarni, according to the transcript.
Shannon later told Sarni the prosecutor’s office was looking into the issue and believed the complainant, but had told Shannon that if Sarni were truthful, it would likely be dropped.
It is clear from the transcript that the investigators did not believe Sarni’s account, especially during what happened on Sarni’s second visit.
“…If you are saying that you went there because you were concerned about her wellbeing and to make sure the room was changed, we shouldn’t be getting a letter like this. We should be getting, ‘Boy, this cop was great, he went out of his way to make sure I was ok,’” Shannon told Sarni. “We didn’t get a letter like that, Tony.”
After nearly two hours of questioning, Sarni altered his statement, saying that discussing the matter more fully jogged his memory. He said he likely did discuss lingerie with the complainant, whom he admitted he found attractive.
Toward the end of the questioning, Errico told Sarni he feels he is being “somewhat evasive.” Sarni told Errico and Shannon that he was sorry about giving them the runaround, and said he feared that his wife and family would find out about the incident.
“I can’t explain how scared I am,” Sarni said.
While maintaining that his original intention for returning to the hotel was to check on the woman, Sarni admitted that he did ask her to try on one or two items of lingerie.
Following the interview, Errico found that the allegations about marijuana being overlooked and used as leverage could not be sustained, but the allegations of improper conduct regarding asking the complainant to model lingerie could be sustained. He also found that Sarni was untruthful and therefore insubordinate 23 times during the interview.
Sarni’s termination was the right decision, Lankey said in his statement.
“Allegations against this police officer are so egregious and the evidence so persuasive that I cannot in good conscience abide by the hearing officer’s decision,” he said. “His actions are reprehensible for a sworn officer.”
This summer, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said Sarni would not be considered a credible witness in any criminal investigation. He is the second Edison police officer for whom the office has made such a ruling; allegations concerning Officer David Pedana’s racist texts also prompted a similar letter. However, Pedana is still employed by the department.