Bridgewater Fights To Protect Residents’ Privacy, Files Appeal Over Email Release Decision

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — In an effort to protect Bridgewater residents' privacy, the township has filed an appeal to stop the release of residents' emails.

"Protecting the rights of Bridgewater residents is paramount, that’s what we’re elected to do," said Bridgewater Council President Kurdyla.

The appeal was filed over the weekend as part of the township's ongoing dispute with Rise Against Hate, a 501 (c)(3) group. Read More: Bridgewater Email Addresses May Be Released To Anti-Hate Group

The group had previously filed a lawsuit against Bridgewater after they were denied access to residents' email addresses under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

An initial court ruling had sided with the organization. However, the release of the emails is currently paused as Bridgewater joins the ongoing appeal previously initiated by the Township of Cherry Hill.

"This is the next step in our fight to protect our residents’ privacy against the bullying tactics of Rise Against Hate," said Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench. "It's sad that a group that identifies as civil rights warriors continues to show such unremitting disdain for the privacy rights of our residents."

Rise Against Hate also recently requested seeing any of Moench’s emails that mention "Rise Against Hate." The Township said it will provide these documents to the extent provided by law.

"The only thing that Rise Against Hate is going to learn from my Township e-mail account is that the residents of Bridgewater think that their civil rights 'activism' is as hypocritical and self-indulgent as I do," said Moench.

"Rise Against Hate" also filed lawsuits against Montclair, Cherry Hill, and West Deptford after submitting a public record request for access to the towns' newsletter mailing lists and was denied.

Co-Founder of the group Benjamin Shore said his group's purpose in gaining access to residents' emails is to inform them about their findings in regards to racial disparities in their towns.

"We believe people have the right to know about these statistics and that a person of color has an increased risk by being present in the township," said Shore. "We just want to inform them. People have the right to know if there is an increased risk of danger."

Shore made several allegations claiming from 2012 to 2016 a Black person is almost 1000 percent more likely to be subject to police force than a white person based on population in Bridgewater. He also claimed one township officer had 16 uses of force against people of color. These statistics have not been published.

Bridgewater officials and Police Chief Paul Payne denied these claims.

"The narrative this group is trying to manufacture is divorced from reality. Every single use-of-force report generated by this Department is reviewed internally by our supervisors, by the Somerset County Prosecutor, and by the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey. It's easy to make cheap generalizations from the other side of the state, but here in Bridgewater we enforce accountability and transparency," said Payne.

"In fact, an Internal Affairs investigation is automatically triggered anytime a supervisor or a subject — the person against whom force was used — makes a complaint," Payne continued. "We have had exactly zero substantiated complaints in the past 10 years, because my officers have the training and the professionalism our residents expect and demand of us. Baseless suggestions to the contrary are uninformed and irresponsible."

Kurdyla expressed his dismay over the price the township is incurring as a result of defending itself.

"It is particularly frustrating that vital Municipal Government and Police time, energy, and resources continue to be spent on the excessive and onerous demands of a Washington D.C. group that has nothing to do with Bridgewater," said Kurdyla. "Their broad OPRA requests abuse this critical tool for transparency. If Rise Against Hate were truly concerned with the well-being of our residents, they’d let our Bridgewater employees get back to work."

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