3rd Lawsuit Filed Against Asbury Park Police Dept., Alleging Racism

ASBURY PARK, NJ — A third officer in the Asbury Park Police Department has now filed a lawsuit against the department, with all three saying they have experienced racism and retaliation for forming a new police union, one that is mostly made up of officers of color.

This third and most recent lawsuit was filed June 24 in Monmouth County Superior Court by patrol officer Ahmed Lawson, who is African-American.

The first lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Lt. Kamil Warraich, who is Pakistani and the highest-ranking officer of color in the department; he is also Muslim and said he was called a "terrorist" and "Taliban" by fellow officers when he was first hired.

In May of this year, patrol officer Craig Breiner, who is Caucasian, similarly sued the department, saying he was called a "race traitor" and "white devil" for joining the new union.

Lawson was hired by the Asbury Park Police Department in 2004. Shortly after his hiring, Lawson said he was advised by several minority coworkers who were senior to him that some Caucasian members of the police department considered themselves members of the "CRAB Club."

He said he was told that CRAB stood for "Crazy Racists Against Blacks."

Lawson said he was then working a road job overseeing construction when he thought he heard a patrol captain use the "n-word" over the police radio. Specifically, Lawson said he thought he heard a superior officer say, “oh s—, they drug that ‘n-word’ out of there”, or words to that effect.

Lawson reported what he heard to his superior officer, as well as Internal Affairs and his allegation was also looked into by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The county prosecutor investigated and "did not sustain the complaints," according to the lawsuit.

Lawson's lawyers, Charles Sciarra and Matthew Curran, of Clifton-based law firm Sciarra & Catrambone, say this is not the first time the Monmouth County Prosecutor has dismissed allegations of racism against the Asbury Park PD.

While Warraich's lawsuit is still working its way through the court system, he also filed a complaint with the NJ Attorney General's Office. According to the Asbury Park Press, the AG sent his complaint to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office; in February of 2021, the county prosecutor’s Professional Responsibility and Bias Crimes Bureau sent a letter to Warraich saying they investigated and no misconduct was found.

"The Monmouth County Prosecutor's office has failed to appropriately address other complaints of discrimination or a hostile work environment made by a minority Asbury Park law enforcement officer," read Lawson's lawsuit.

A spokesman for the county prosecutor said Wednesday they could not comment on the lawsuits, or respond to that allegation.

In 2019, Lawson, Breiner and Warraich were part of 16 Asbury Park police officers who broke with the Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) union to form a new local union with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

This new FOP consists of mostly minority officers of officers of color, 14 African-American officers and one Caucasian police officer, Breiner. Also, Warraich, who is Pakistani-American, was named the FOP president.

There has been strife between the two unions, with the media reporting that the PBA has retaliated against the mostly-minority members of the new union.

In his lawsuit, Breiner said he has been called a “race traitor” for joining the new union, and also a "white devil." Breiner said he was the only white male American officer who joined as a founding member.

Breiner, who is also a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran, is immensely popular in the Asbury Park community and he was the officer who went viral in a video dancing with Asbury Park children at a 2016 block party, hence his nickname "the dancing cop."

Both he and Lawson said they have been passed over for promotions, which they say is because they joined the new union.

This week, the Asbury Park Police Dept. released a statement on all three lawsuits to the Asbury Park Press:

“Any allegations of improper activity are thoroughly investigated. Racism in the department is not tolerated. It is unfortunate that some officers who have documented histories of improper conduct would use false claims to advance their personal agendas. While the department does not and cannot comment on active litigation, it will vigorously defend any such allegations in court," it read. “The city is confident that its police department meets its obligations under the laws prohibiting workplace discrimination and denies that racism, or any other discrimination, is tolerated. Any complaints of discrimination, harassment, or officer misconduct are thoroughly investigated, and the city is confident that its internal affairs team is wholly committed to their charge.”

Here is the Patch report on Breiner's lawsuit: Asbury Park 'Dancing Cop' Now Suing Police Dept., Alleging Racism (May 2022)