Matter involves former police Lieutenants Bruce Carnall and Frank Fechter
By John Tredrea
An age discrimination lawsuit has been filed against Hopewell Township by two of its former police lieutenants, Bruce Carnall and Frank Fechter, who allege the township forced them into retirement.
George Fisher, the West Windsor attorney representing Messrs. Carnall and Fechter, said Wednesday the lawsuit alleges that, before his clients agreed to retire in March 2005, they were told by township officials that the position of police lieutenant was being eliminated for budgetary reasons. They were the only two lieutenants on the force at the time, which has never had more than two lieutenants. Both made $97,550 a year and both had over 30 years on the force, which entitled them to a full pension. Both men were in their 50s.
Mr. Fisher said the lawsuit, filed last week in state Superior Court in Trenton, alleges that the two former lieutenants were told that, since their positions were being eliminated, their only option was to retire or accept demotion to sergeant.
The demotions would have resulted in pay cuts of about $10,000 per year for each man, plus loss of pension benefits due to the reduction in rank. In addition, the suit says, their demotions would have bumped two sergeants back into the patrolman ranks and cost several officers with low seniority their jobs. One of those officers is a patrolman whose wife has cancer.
"Faced with this Hobson’s choice, this impossible choice, they had no choice but to retire," Mr. Fisher said. He said neither Mr. Fechter nor Mr. Carnall had any immediate plans to retire before the talks that led to their departures began.
The lawsuit notes that, five months after the two men left, two township police sergeants in their 40s were promoted to lieutenant, that position having been re-established in the department. However, Township Attorney Steve Goodell said Friday that those moves were in effect forced by personnel changes that occurred after Lts. Carnall and Fechter retired and were not part of a plan against them involving age discrimination.
"Lieutenants Carnall and Fechter retired voluntarily," Mr. Goodell said. "Five months after they did so, Michael Chipowsky retired as chief of the township police. George Meyer was promoted from captain to replace him. That left no captains or lieutenants between the chief and the sergeants."
As a result, Mr. Goodell said, township government eliminated the position of captain and promoted two sergeants to lieutenant. "And one of those two sergeant positions was left unfilled," he said.
"This left the township with seven superior officers, which is the same number it had when Lts.Lieutenants Carnall and Fechter retired. Before they retired, there were nine superior officers. So it is incorrect to say that their positions were filled with younger people," Mr. Goodell said.
Mr. Carnall and Mr. Fechter are demanding back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs.