Caldwell Cop Alleges Racial Discrimination, Intends To Sue Police Chief: Report

CALDWELL, NJ — A Caldwell police lieutenant has filed notice of intent to sue the borough and Police Chief James Bongiorno for alleged racial discrimination, a report says.

Lt. Michael Geary - the first and only Asian-American officer to be hired by the Caldwell Police Department – is claiming that he’s suffered under a “hostile work environment” that includes ethnic slurs and retaliatory actions, TAP Into West Orange reported.

Geary – who changed his legal name from Michael Fung on joining the CPD in 2004 – claims that Bongiorno subjected him to “acts of discrimination and retaliation.”

In addition, Geary is accusing the police chief of making ethnic, gender and sexually derogatory comments about a recently hired black female officer, and retaliating against her complaints by making the only women’s bathroom in the Caldwell Police Department a unisex one, writing her up for calling out sick and checking on her whereabouts on patrol by following her around in his police vehicle, TAP Into West Orange stated.

Read the full article here.

During a 2011 ceremony, Bongiorno lauded Geary’s accomplishments along with other promoted officers, saying that Geary was “well suited” to serve as a CPD sergeant and was an “excellent communicator.”

Town officials shared the following biography of Geary in 2012:

“Geary grew up in Hillsborough as an only child and attended Immaculata High School. He attended Rutgers University and graduated with an economics degree in 2002. His first job was for UBS PaineWebber where he was a research analyst. In 2004, he decided to change careers and go into law enforcement and attended the Somerset County Police Academy. In September of that same year, he started his law enforcement career with the Borough of Caldwell. He quickly became involved in many community policing activities, such as D.A.R.E., bike patrol, municipal alliance, and also a certified instructor for the police academy. After completing the course for bicycle patrol he was responsible for getting two BMW bicycles donated to the department. In 2009, he obtained his master's degree in human resources and public administration from Seton Hall University. He served as the Juvenile Officer from 2010-2012, as well as being the department PBA representative from 2009-2012. He also served on the PBA Executive Board as the Financial Secretary and Vice President. Currently, he lives in Roxbury with his wife, Gina, and two sons Michael and Robert.”

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