A borough in New Jersey is to pay out nearly $2.5 million to a group of police officers who claim they were harassed for more than a decad...
A borough in New Jersey is to pay out nearly $2.5 million to a group of police officers who claim they were harassed for more than a decade with a large dildo.
Five officers along with a part-time employee of the small Mountainside Police Department near New York City allege bosses and municipal officials allowed the 'harassing, inappropriate and illegal conduct' by the sex toy which was nicknamed 'Big Blue', to continue.
Borough officials have since approved a settlement of $2,450,000 to be split among the six employees giving them just over $400,000 each.
The six are officers Christopher Feighner, Richard Latargia, Thomas Norton, Jeffrey Stinner and James Urban and part-timer Amy Colineri.
The six, claimed higher-ups harassed them with a sex toy for more than 10 years. Those who carried out the harrasment allegedly including, from left: Lt. Thomas Murphy, Chief Allan Attanasio, Detective Sgt. Andrew Huber. Both Attanasio and Huber have since resigned
The group claimed in the suit that officer Stinner was tortured by internal affairs officer Detective Sgt. Andrew Huber with the dildo 'on almost a daily basis.'
'Huber would wave around Big Blue, throw it within the Detective Bureau, and throw it at people walking past the Detective Bureau,' the complaint reads.
In one instance mentioned in the lawsuit, Huber hit a dispatcher in the face with the sex toy.
Lt. Officer Thomas Murphy filmed the incident and teased him about it.
'What's it smell like?' and 'I hope it doesn't smell like what I think it smells like,' he asked, the complaint reads.
The teasing with the dildo began in 2007 or 2008 but it is alleged around two dozen officers in leadership roles knew of the debauchery, according to the complaint.
At one point, a lawyer was brought in by the police brass to explain to cops the issues surrounding the use of the sex toy.
Huber is alleged to have left the room after mocking the training.
The multi-million dollar settlement will be covered by insurance.
Borough officials have since denied all allegations in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit led to the resignations of Chief Allan Attanasio who left the department in August 2018 along with officer Andrew Huber.
Officer Thomas Murphy was suspended as a result once the suit was filed.
It is not known if any discipline was dished out internally against the two officers although according to the New York Post, neither officer appears to have received their pension.
An attorney for the police employees, Charles Sciarra, said in a brief statement, 'The matter has been amicably resolved.'
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