Montclair Off Hook For Firing Cop After Domestic Abuse Charges: Court

Montclair, NJ – Montclair may be off the hook for a lawsuit involving a fired township police officer that would have cost the municipality $270,000.

The long-running lawsuit involving Joselito Nebiar - who was suspended without pay in June of 2013 and fired in December of 2014 – evolved yet again on Monday when a New Jersey appellate court ruled that the township legally dismissed the former officer.

The appellate court’s ruling will trump a decision in March that stated Nebiar must be reinstated as a Montclair police officer and given $270,000 in back pay.

• See related article: Fired Montclair Cop Gets Job Back And $270K After Lawsuit

In the lawsuit, Nebiar charged that the township didn’t follow proper legal protocol when it dismissed him in the wake of an alleged domestic abuse.

Read the full court ruling online here.

CASE HISTORY

According to court records, in February of 2013, Nebiar was charged with simple assault as a result of an incident involving his live-in girlfriend.

The assault charge was dismissed with the woman’s consent in Bloomfield Municipal Court in March of 2013, records state.

In April of 2013, the township entered into an agreement with Nebiar whereby Montclair agreed to refrain from filing disciplinary charges against him as a police officer, court records state.

In return, Nebiar agreed to attend psychological counseling sessions once a week for a minimum of six months, as well as alcohol abuse treatment.

Court records state that in June of 2013, Nebiar and his girlfriend were involved in another alleged domestic violence incident that led to his arrest on charges of aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

According to court records, responding Bloomfield police officers stated that Nebiar’s girlfriend accused him of attempting to sexually assault her, an accusation that the officer denied.

Although his girlfriend recanted her statements the following day, the Montclair Police Department suspended Nebiar without pay pending the resolution of the criminal charges two days later.

According to court records, in September of 2013, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office notified then-Police Chief David Sabagh that a grand jury declined to indict Nebiar on the criminal charges and that the matter was being remanded for “any administrative charges the MPD deemed necessary.”

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