Livingston Cop Sues Town Over Claims Of Antisemitism, Officials Deny Allegations

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A Livingston police officer is suing the township and alleging that he is facing a hostile work environment because he is Jewish – a claim that town officials are “vociferously” denying.

Christopher Wagner filed his lawsuit on Jan. 30 in Superior Court. He is accusing the township and police department of violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which protects people from bias-based harassment in employment, housing and public accommodations.

According to the lawsuit, Wagner has been an officer in the Livingston Police Department since 2005.

Wagner claims that he’s witnessed several antisemitic comments and incidents in the workplace after joining the force, including two instances where he saw fellow officers making ‘Hail Hitler’ signs.

The lawsuit also claims that officers have made discriminatory comments involving pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrations in the township over the past few years, including comments that “your people are out there.”

Other allegations cited in the lawsuit include:

• “From the beginning of his employment until in or about 2023, whenever [Wagner] was sent to respond to a call for police service, he was told that it was one of ‘your people’ if the caller had a last name that sounded Jewish.”
• “A [sergeant] often referred to a menorah, the nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, as the ‘Devil’s Pitchfork.’”
• “On several occasions, when the department would contact Hatzalah, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service, to assist with a medical incident in the township, as back-up to Livingston’s volunteer first aid squad, [a sergeant] would state, ‘Oy vey, get out of the way,” a commonly known Jewish/Yiddish phrase.”
• “During [Wagner’s] career, there was a post to which officers were assigned at Temple Emanu-El, a Jewish place of worship in the township, to direct traffic when a Hebrew School class let out and students were being picked up. That post was derisively and openly assigned during roll call as the ‘Hebrew 500,’ purportedly a reference to the opening of the Daytona 500.”
• “On or about November 25, 2025, [Wagner] found on top of his locker in the department a book entitled ‘The Jew,’ which he reported to his sergeant.”

Wagner alleges that police and township officials knew about the incidents, but didn’t take any actions to stop them.

Wagner claims he was retaliated against, including the launch of meritless internal affairs investigations and unfair disciplinary actions. Meanwhile, Wagner alleges that he’s been passed over for promotions, calling them “rigged” and alleging that the LPD didn’t properly consider his written test results, performance as an officer, or seniority.

View the full lawsuit here.

LIVINGSTON TOWN OFFICIALS DENY ALLEGATIONS

Livingston town and police officials are pushing back against Wagner’s claims, saying that they first became aware of the lawsuit on Wednesday.

“The township cannot stress enough that it categorically denies the allegations officer Wagner’s complaint and his characterization of an antisemitic environment within the Livingston Police Department,” a statement from the township says.

Officials said the town and its police department have a long and valued working relationship with the Jewish community, including local temples, religious leaders and educational institutions.

Every officer in the Livingston Police Department undergoes annual, state-mandated implicit bias and cultural diversity training, including training about religious discrimination and antisemitism, officials said.

“Unfortunately, we cannot say anything on the specifics of the case as this is ongoing litigation but as a town with a Jewish mayor, a Jewish immediate past mayor, many synagogues and many Jewish residents, I can tell you that every day I see the Livingston Police Department working hard to protect all of the people in our community,” Mayor Shawn Klein said.

“If the comments alleged are found to have been made, whether in jest or malice, they are inappropriate and unacceptable and I am confident that they will be addressed by the [police] chief,” Klein added.

Livingston township officials accused Wagner of being unhappy about not being promoted, and repeating “sensational but unsubstantiated” claims made in another recent lawsuit.

Wagner’s lawsuit was the first time that the leadership of the LPD has heard about his allegations, officials said, adding that some of the claims refer to allegations that are up to 20-years-old and involve officers who have long since retired.

“The township can state unequivocally that most, if not all of the alleged incidents – assuming they actually occurred – were never the subject any complaint or reporting through proper channels by officer Wagner or any other officer,” the statement reads.

“Moreover, the few incidents or concerns that were actually reported, albeit only recently, were all the subject of thorough and unbiased investigations, including sworn statements from any officer alleged to have knowledge of any of the claims,” Livingston town officials said.

Virtually all were found to have no factual basis, and any that were found to have any basis were taken seriously and addressed through appropriate means, officials said.

According to township officials, the LPD’s promotional process has been agreed to by the township manager and the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the union representing all patrol officers and sergeants in the Livingston Police Department.

Town officials also pointed to a Major Discipline Dashboard hosted by the state, which shows infractions and punishments given to police officers in New Jersey.

Wagner is the only member of the Livingston Police Department who was subjected to “major discipline” since the database launched five years ago – specifically, a 35-day suspension due to “conduct unbecoming/submersive to good order, failure to comply with chief’s orders, fighting/quarreling with other members of the department, and removing documents without permission.”

• See Related: Livingston Police Officer Named In NJ ‘Discipline’ Report

“As noted, officer Wagner contends that he was denied promotion because of his Jewish religion,” the town’s statement says. “However, even in his own complaint, perhaps inadvertently, officer Wagner identifies two Jewish officers who were promoted, to lieutenant and sergeant respectively, within the last six years by the very same township manager and police chief that [he] now asserts had antisemitic motives.”

“The township manager and police chief vociferously deny officer Wagner’s aspersion and unequivocally confirm that the promotional process was fair, unbiased and solely based on the merits of the candidates, including a serious review of each candidate’s record of service,” the township’s statement concludes.

Read the township's full statement here.

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