Bedminster Township police officer said fellow officer targeted minorities, lied to judge and sniffed the underwear of a juvenile.
Bedminster Township police officer Kyle PirogBEDMINSTER -- A township police officer who accused a fellow officer of inappropriate behavior - including lying to a judge and targeting minorities - is fighting for his job after what his attorney says has been a series of retaliatory action by the department over the past four years.
Officer Kyle Pirog, a 16-year veteran, was initially demoted after going to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office with his concerns when his superiors failed to act. He has been suspended indefinitely without pay, pending his termination following an Internal Affairs investigation that his attorney says was initiated as further retaliation.
Pirog has filed a civil suit in Morris County alleging the township police department violated the Conscientious Employee Protection Act in its retaliatory actions against him. He's seeking unspecified damages.
"Police and police departments are entrusted to protect the well-being and safety of the public and most of them do it admirably," said Claudia A. Reis, Pirog's Morristown-based attorney.
"But every once in a while you have someone who steps out of that role and targets people. When that happens, you need people to step forward and out of the blue code of silence to report those instances. To then target those very people for retaliation undermines what police and police departments are entrusted to do."
The suit was filed in Morris County because the judge his former co-worker allegedly lied to serves in Somerset County Superior Court.
Bedminster Township Police Department officials said in a preliminary notice of disciplinary action that they are seeking to terminate Pirog because he committed five violations of department's rules and regulations, including remaining stationary in various township parks and businesses for long periods of time without performing any police functions, falsifying his daily blotter and running radar for long periods of time without making any motor vehicle stops.
Attorney Arthur Phibault, who is representing the township, didn't return a call seeking comment.
PLUS: Third racism lawsuit filed against Somerville DPW
Four years ago, in June and July 2011, Pirog, who was a sergeant at the time and the recipient of repeated satisfactory performance reviews, told his superiors that Officer John Dapkins had lied under oath to a judge to obtain a search warrant, the complaint said. He also told them that Dapkins lied in a police report, the complaint said.
Then-Chief W. Patrick Ussery approved Dapkins' initial report but after reviewing the tape of Dapkins' motor vehicle stop by then-Lt. Craig Meyer Ussery told Dapkins to change the report because the video didn't support Dapkins' version of the facts, the complaint said.
Ussery approved the second report but didn't note that the report had been altered, the complaint said.
Several days later, Dapkins strip searched a juvenile who had been stopped by another officer, the complaint said. During the search, Dapkins sniffed the juvenile's underwear and falsely claimed that it smelled like marijuana, the complaint said.
Pirog believed that lying to a judge under oath, altering the report and strip searching a minor constituted official misconduct and reported Dapkins to his superiors, the complaint said. He also believed Ussery's approval of the altered report without noting it had been changed constituted official misconduct, the complaint said.
Following inaction by his superiors, Pirog took his concerns to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, the complaint said. Pirog also accused Dapkins of targeting minorities in his motor vehicle stops, an allegations echoed by other officers, the complaint said.
MORE: Family of N.J. girl declared brain dead sues hospital for malpractice
In August 2011, after learning that Pirog had gone to the prosecutor's office with his concerns, the township suspended Pirog and advised him that he would be the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation, the complaint said. He was charged with 12 violations and threatened with termination, the complaint said.
The prosecutor's office decided not to pursue the allegations although Pirog forwarded to the office copies of the original and re-created reports, Reis said.
On Aug. 31, 2011, to avoid termination, Pirog agreed to a three-month suspension without pay, a demotion and apologizing to Dapkins, the complaint said. Furthermore, the township agreed Pirog wouldn't be subject to any further discipline, the complaint said.
But, upon Pirog's return to work, Ussery denied Pirog any authority over less experienced officers, assigned him undesirable shifts and placed a GPS in his vehicle. In addition, department officials required him to report to Dapkins, the officer he had originally accused of misconduct.
In March 2014, on the final day Ussery worked before retiring, he told Pirog that as long as he or his successor, Meyer, were in command he would "never be promoted again," the complaint said. Meyer was named chief in May 2014, the complaint said.
Shortly thereafter, Pirog was denied a promotion in favor of a less qualified candidate, the complaint said. When a sergeant who was a member of the interview panel voiced his disapproval, Meyers opened an Internal Affairs investigation against the sergeant and he was eventually forced to resign, the complaint said.
On Aug. 18, Pirog was notified of his suspension. On Nov. 2, a disciplinary hearing was held and then adjourned until a yet to be determined date.
The township was advised in July 2014 that Pirog filed a claim under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com.Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
