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Lakewood Township taxpayers are on the hook big time.
A judge has just ruled that a massive civil rights lawsuit filed against Police Captain Thomas Langenberger and Township Manager Patrick Donnelly may proceed, FAA News has learned.
According to the complaint filed in New Jersey Superior Court in Ocean County by Allenhurst Attorney Robert M. Anderson Esq.:
Karentessa Mayers is an African American Female.
Following a distinguished career as Principal Community Technician in the New York Police Department - a position in which she was awarded 3 promotions - in 2004, Mayers began working in the Lakewood Township Police Department.
She worked for many years in the Communications Division, which is under the supervision of Captain Thomas Langenberger - and that's where the troubles occured.
In November 2018, Langenberger told Mayers that she was "uneducated" and that she needed "to go to training."
At one point, Langenberger indicated that "no one knows exactly what Mayers does on her job." At the same time, he filed an Internal Affairs complaint against her for "forwarding her emails without permission," however in actuality there was no policy against forwarding emails.
At another point, Langenberger stated that the Communications Division "does not look the way he wants it to look." This was clearly a racist remark as Mayers was the only African American clerical worker in the department.
In late 2019, Mayers overheard Langenberger complaining to Lieutenant Peterson that she should not have her own office. Subsequently, Mayers filed an extensive written complaint regarding how Langenberger was treating her. Chief Gregory Meyer warmly responded that she would be switched to working directly under Sergeant Peter LaRosa.
As a result of the COVID pandemic, Mayers worked remotely from March 2020 until April 11, 2022.
In anticipation of her return to in-house work, Mayers forwarded a 12 page letter to Township Manager Patrick Donnelly detailing her complaints of racially motivated bias toward her, in the hopes that when she returned to the workplace, the workplace would be free of harassment, racial bias, and retaliation.
To her dismay, the racist troubles only got worse.
Immediately upon her return, Langenberger told her that she was being transferred to deal with OPRA requests - this was a demotion to lesser matters.
Mayers was again demoted to lesser duties in August 2022 when Langenberger emailed the Senior Records Clerk and advised her that Mayers was being transferred to records duty. In act of degradation, Langenberger did not mention her in the email by her name, only as "whoever."
On August 25, 2022, Langenberger wilfully and falsely reported Mayers to Internal Affairs as being AWOL. This was in direct contradiction to Chief Meyer's direction that Mayers was to report her hours only to Sergeant Larosa or Lieutenant Leroy Marshall.
In March 2023, Langenberger continued his retaliation against Mayers when he sent her an email reassigning her to processing expungements. This was yet another demotion.
Mayers notified Donnelly that she would be grieving this demotion. Donelly responded by calling her into his office and telling her that if she wanted to keep her job, she was to do anything a supervisor like Langenberger told her to do.
That's when things got even more cranked up.
On May 10, 2023, Langenberger surreptitiously followed Mayers in an unmarked police vehicle with no dash camera and made a false stop on her.
On September 21, 2023, Langenberger taunted Mayers in the hallway, telling her that "he could do anything he wanted to her and get away with it." As clearly shown, Langenberger's retaliatory conduct against Mayers not only continued unabated, but became heightened. In all this time, Mayers attempted to share her concerns with the administration.
On September 25, 2023, Mayers received an Internal Affairs complaint charging her with insubordination to Captain Langenberger. Days later, she filed her own Internal Affairs complaint against him.
Following this, on October 4, 2023, a meeting was held with Donnelly, Township COO Patricia Komsa, and a Union representative. They advised Mayers that she was not in trouble, and that they wanted to ensure she can work stress-free.
Mayers anticipated that they would address the issues head on by transferring or disciplining Langenberger.
Nope.
Instead, they told her they were transferring her out of the police department and into Human Resources where should work directly under Donelly and Komsa.
This change in job duties and location not only destroyed Mayers' job in the police department, it destroyed a career where she could have earned more promotions.
The complaint alleges five counts: i) Race Discrimination in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; ii) Retaliation in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; iii) Retaliation for Participating in Administrative Process in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; iv) Negligence in Failing to Remedy Hostile Work Environment in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; and v) CEPA.
The suit demands judgement for compensatory damages "for past and present pain and suffering, emotional upset, mental anguish, humiliation and loss of life's pleasures, which plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer as a result of defendants improper conduct," punitive damages, as well as legal fees and costs of suit.
Township Attorney Kevin Riordan Esq. filed a motion to dismiss the complaint.
The motion argues:
Defendants concede that Plaintiff is a member of a protected class and that Plaintiff was qualified for the position Plaintiff holds with the Township. But Defendants move to dismiss because Plaintiff has failed to plead and cannot prove an adverse employment action, or raise an inference of discrimination. When Plaintiff complained, she was first transferred away from the captain and, after further complaints, she was transferred to human resources. Plaintiff was never demoted, nor reduced in compensation, nor otherwise adversely affected.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants conduct was because of her race. Plaintiff has not cited a single incident where race was mentioned, or even commented upon.
Plaintiff does not allege her compensation was reduced, or that she was denied any benefit of employment to which she was entitled. The sum total of Plaintiff’s allegations distilled to its essence is that Captain Langenberger “picked” on her. But there is nothing to tie this to Plaintiff’s race. Certainly, Plaintiff is not the only African-American employee of the Township or of its police department. Yet Plaintiff alleges Captain Langenberger only “picked” on Plaintiff.
Nor is there any indication that Captain Langenberger “picked on” Plaintiff because of her race. Plaintiff does not recite a single racial comment or slur by Captain Langenberger or anybody else for that matter. The closest Plaintiff comes is when she alleges the Captain said his department “did not look the way he wanted” and Plaintiff also alleges that, at that time, she was the only African-American clerk in the police department. The inference is that the Captain did not pick on other African-Americans in the police department, just Plaintiff.
These alleged actions, even assuming they are true, do not demonstrate an adverse employment action, and do not give rise to an inference of discrimination.
At oral arguments held on Friday afternoon, Ocean County Superior Court Judge James Den Uyl was not at all impressed, agreeing instead with the plaintiff that her complaint does plead a case sufficiently.
At this point, Township officials need to figure out if they will continue spending money attempting to defend Captain Langenberger against this lawsuit or if they will reach out to the plaintiff and see how they can settle her concerns.
Either way, the taxpayers are on the hook big time.
This is by far the first time that a female subordinate of Captain Langenberger has filed suit alleging inappropriate behavior.
A number of years ago, the Township was sued in federal court over allegations that Captain Langenberger sexually harassed a female employee and then chased her down with flashing lights to let her know she was fired from her job.
That lawsuit has somehow "disappeared from public view." Time will tell if and how Captain Langenberger will survive this new exposure.
The Lakewood Police Department is currently embattled with numerous litigation.
As recently reported here on FAA News, the department has been slammed with a massive federal lawsuit revealing violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by Detectives Tyler Distefano, Alex Guzman Jr., and James Machecha. The department is due in court this coming week over this case.
As previously reported here and here on FAA News, the department has been slammed with two separate lawsuits alleging that Officer Matthew T. McKee caused a 3-way car crash while he was driving a police department vehicle on Route 88 in Brick Township in a non-emergency situation.
As previously reported here on FAA News, the department is also currently defending itself against a lawsuit due to a crash caused by Traffic Safety Officer Alex Guzman.
The suit contends that Guzman was driving an unmarked car through a red light at a high rate of speed when there was no need for such urgency at a busy Township intersection, all while using his cell phone.
As exclusively reported here on FAA News, the department has also been accused of violating federal law by denying an Orthodox Jewish man a Religious Accommodation on Shabbos.
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