Asbury Park Settles Police Officer's Lawsuit For $1.185 Million

ASBURY PARK, NJ — On June 15, 2026 the city of Asbury Park agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a former police officer.

Former Asbury Park police officer Ahemd Lawson sued the city in 2022; you can read his lawsuit here.

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This summer, the city agreed to settle the case for $1,185,000. That $1.185 million will be issued to the former cop's lawyer in four monthly installments of $296,250, to be paid out on July 1, August 1, September 1 and October 1 of this year, according to the terms of the settlement, which is publicly available here.

In his lawsuit, Lawson said he thought he heard a superior captain use the "n-word" over the police radio, and he said when he reported this, the city discriminated against him and retaliated against him, including by denying him a promotion to sergeant.

Lawson said he was working a road job overseeing construction when he thought he heard a transmission on the Asbury Park police radio of Patrol Captain John Crescio use the "n-word."

Specifically, Lawson heard Capt. Crescio state on a taped line, "oh s—, they drug that 'n-word' out of there", or words to that effect.

Lawson said he reported what he heard to the Asbury Park Police Internal Affairs unit. According to the lawsuit, other officers confirmed they heard Crescio use the "n-word" during the radio transmission.

Crescio has denied saying this.

"On page 27 of his deposition, (Crescio) testified that his radio microphone had accidentally keyed while he was speaking by telephone with a friend about deer hunting. He testified at page 26 that 'we were talking about deer hunting activity in Ohio and the big bucks were chasing the does,'" reported Transparency NJ, which was the first to report the settlement and is the website hosting all the legal filings in this case.

Crescio in turn filed his own Internal Affairs complaint.

Lawson said he was retaliated against and denied a promotion after he reported this.

His lawsuit makes other allegations of racism within the Asbury Park Police department, including that other police officers told him some superior officers belong to something called the "CRAB Club," which he understood to mean "Crazy Racists Against Blacks."

The city of Asbury Park denied all these allegations. The city says minority police officers and officers of color have been promoted to higher rank within the department.

By agreeing to settle the case, the city said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.

Lawson retired in July 2024 and he is currently receiving a special pension of $5,259 per month, Transparency NJ reported. He had at least 25 years of service.

Read the full story here on Transparency NJ: Asbury Park Settles Former Police Officer's Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit for $1.185 Million (August 28, 2026)