The city of Hoboken and Mayor Dawn Zimmer have been accused of discriminating against two former employees on the basis of race and sexual orientation in two separate civil suits recently filed in Hudson County Superior Court.
In one case, a police officer who was fired over misconduct related to his relationship with an ex-lover alleges that he was dealt with more harshly than white officers in similar situations. In another case, a parking enforcement officer who is black and homosexual alleges that his superiors ignored anti-gay remarks made toward him.
In his suit against the city, Louis Zayas, the attorney for the police officer, alleges that Zimmer’s firing of minority employees is “part of a pattern of discriminatory conduct in the city of Hoboken.”
Zayas, whose office is in North Bergen, appears to be the go-to attorney for public employees suing government entities in Hudson County. He also has represented Hoboken’s former public safety director and former Housing Authority executive director in suits alleging discrimination. Last December, a Hudson County court granted $1 million in damages to Angel Alicea, the public safety director, though it did not find Mayor Zimmer personally culpable and the city is appealing the decision.
“When [Zimmer] became the mayor, she hired everybody except minorities,” said Zayas in an interview. “It was only after Angel Alicea filed a lawsuit that she started hiring some token minorities to deflect that allegation, so it’s clear that she has a bias against Hispanics.”
In a statement, Zimmer denied that she or the city had violated the civil rights of either individual involved in the new lawsuits.
“Unfortunately municipalities are an attractive target for litigation,” wrote Zimmer. “The city considers the claims entirely without merit and will take all appropriate action to defend the interests of the people of Hoboken.”
The policeman & the paramour
Daniel Chirino was appointed to serve as a Hoboken police officer in 2008. As alleged in a complaint filed before the Superior Court, Chirino’s disciplinary issues with the Police Department arose from his relationship with a woman described in the complaint as his “former paramour.” According to the document, Chirino left his post at the department on Oct. 2, 2011 “to ensure [the woman’s] safety” after she told him she was contemplating suicide.
When he arrived at her residence, the complaint alleges, another man was present and called the Jersey City Police Department to report a domestic disturbance. Chirino returned to the station but was called in to speak with his superior Sgt. John Orrico after JCPD reported the alleged disturbance to Hoboken PD.
According to the complaint, Chirino was “overwhelmed with embarrassment about leaving his post” and denied having done so. The next day, he communicated with his ex-lover and decided to drive to her residence again with hopes of reconciling.
When he arrived, the complaint continues, he saw his ex-lover depart with the same man who had called the JCPD on him, and immediately texted her to express “his own thoughts of committing suicide.”
That night, the complaint states, Chirino was called in to meet with members of HPD Internal Affairs and questioned about the suicidal text messages. He was declared “unfit for duty” and required to undergo a psychological evaluation.
According to the complaint, two different psychologists diagnosed him with tremendous stress but otherwise cleared him.
However, after Chirino “formally ended all relations” with his ex-lover, she allegedly let herself into his Guttenberg apartment, assaulted him, and refused to leave. According to the complaint, Chirino called 911 and the woman was arrested by Guttenberg police.
Five days later, the complaint alleges, she told the JCPD that Chirino had kidnapped her, resulting in him being served with a temporary restraining order by Internal Affairs.
Chirino was charged with official misconduct, allegedly due to honest disclosures he made about his former relationship with the woman in question, and was ultimately terminated in October 2012.
According to Zayas, several white Hoboken police officers who violated departmental policies under Zimmer’s tenure have received progressive discipline and suspension instead of termination.
“Other officers have engaged in similar or worse misconduct and they haven’t been fired,” said Zayas. “In fact, the chief of police [Anthony Falco] recommended that my client not be fired.”
Because similarly situated officers were treated differently, allegedly based on race, Zayas argues that the city violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). He is seeking declaratory, injunctive, compensatory, and punitive damages for his client
“We’re going to show that Hispanics are treated more harshly than white officers,” said Zayas.
He declined to name any of the white officers who had been treated more leniently.
Driven out of the HPU
The other person suing, Gregory Sherrill, alleges that his female co-worker made numerous derogatory remarks in reference to his sexual orientation this past April.
According to the complaint, Sherrill reported these remarks to his supervisor Hector Mojica, but Mojica did nothing to stop the harassment.
Sherrill allegedly went to City Hall to report the harassment and lack of remedial action to Hoboken’s Equal Employment Opportunity officer, where he encountered Mojica and Director of Transportation and Parking John Morgan and told them of his plans.
Sherrill had previously filed a complaint with Hoboken’s EEO officer accusing Morgan of racial discrimination.
Shortly after the new complaint was filed with EEO, Mojica allegedly informed Sherrill that a woman had accused him of striking her in the hand with his HPU vehicle as she was getting out of a taxi on Washington Street. Sherrill denies that the incident occurred.
According to the complaint, Sherrill was subsequently served a notice of Disciplinary Action for the alleged collision.
After a hearing for the Disciplinary Action on April, the complaint continues, Sherrill was served another notice alleging that he had engaged in a verbal altercation with his co-worker 15 minutes before the alleged collision.
However, before the hearing for this charge could take place, Sherrill was terminated on May 1.
In the complaint, Sherrill’s attorney Donald Burke alleges that Mojica and Director Morgan took adverse action against Sherrill on the basis of his race and sexual orientation and were at the very least “willfully indifferent” to the co-worker’s harassment of him.
As such, Burke asserts that they violated the NJLAD and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, making Sherrill eligible for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages.
In a letter dated Aug. 29, city attorney Mellissa Longo requested on the amount of time given to file a formal response to Sherrill’s complaint until Oct. 1. The record did not indicate whether this request had been addressed by the court or granted.
In 2011, Hoboken Parking Utility employee Catherine Stewart filed a civil suit accusing Mojica and another HPU official of sexual harassment. This year, the city of Hoboken and the individual defendants awarded a settlement to Stewart prior to a scheduled trial. Zayas also represented Stewart.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.