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BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Englewood, N.J.—The Bergen County Chapter of the NAACP has demanded publicly and via email to Englewood’s City Council that Police Chief Lawrence Suffern, an African American, should apologize for allegedly insulting and using negative characterizations about black officers—a charge leveled against him by police Lt. Herman Savage, who claimed he was bypassed for promotion because he is black.
In a strongly worded email sent July 5, Suffern denied he ever used negative statements or characterizations about any African-American officers.
“I did not and have not made any of the statements alleged in the Herman Savage complaint. The mere suggestion is ridiculous at best and an insult to my integrity and reputation, pure fiction,” he wrote.
Suffern said “in response to community concerns” he would develop a plan for an interview panel for police applicants with each council member selecting a resident from their wards as “volunteers [to] assist with outreach and recruitment with an eye towards local candidates.
“Ultimately the panel would make recommendations for hire and assist in eliminating any concerns over transparency and or nepotism,” Suffern wrote.
“As an African American with roots to the Ramapough Lenape Tribe, a lifelong Englewood resident, a product of the Englewood public school system, I am disgusted with the political opportunists, posturing at a time when this country has been torn apart and requires serious healing,” Suffern wrote.
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NAACP demands apology
Citing statements from Savage’s recently settled lawsuit—which the city settled for $380,000 on May 29 in closed session—Anthony Cureton, president of Bergen County’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, appeared at the June 26 council meeting demanding an apology from Suffern.
In a letter to Northern Valley Press June 29, Cureton went further, noting, “We are appalled that neither the City of Englewood’s governing body nor the police chief has put the community at ease by addressing this profound and insulting statement that offends not just the black officer within the department but the overall work environment.”
Also on Friday, June 29, Suffern emailed a Northern Valley Press reporter to provide a letter offering his response to an early June article reporting on the $380,000 settlement. In that article, the reporter quotes the lawsuit filed by Savage, who claimed he was passed over for promotion in favor of a white officer who scored lowest on the written test. The white officer promoted to captain was then-Lt. Timothy Torrell, who scored lowest of all five candidates on the written test.
In 2014, five candidates competed for the two captain positions. The highest scoring officer on the written test was then-Lt. Gregory Halstead, an African-American, who was promoted to captain.
“Suffern has expressed the opinion that defendant’s black officers are lazy, do not work hard, and fail to take actions that better their situations, but has not expressed similar broad-sweeping sentiments about white employees,” according to the Savage lawsuit.
Savage also claimed in his complaint that Suffern—prior to the promotion decision—told him and then-Lt. Kevin Hayes, also black, that he would not promote either to captain.
In the city’s response to Savage, it said it did not discriminate against him based on race and that the promotion was given due to “legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for the promotional decision,” including Torrell’s seniority and his performance on an interview.
“At no time has any racial bias been present in the administration of the Englewood Police Department. In fact, it has been stated clearly that at no time did our department unlawfully discriminate nor at any time was a hostile work environment present,” said Suffern’s letter to Northern Valley Press.
“As a law enforcement professional with over 30 years of service, and as the chief of over 80 officers, I would like to rebut many of the incomplete and questionable views recently reported in local media,” states the chief’s letter.
At the June 26 council meeting, Cureton—who spoke for the chapter’s 300-plus members—called for a public apology from Suffern for his negative comments about black people, as alleged in Savage’s lawsuit.
Cureton, a former Englewood police officer, said he believed the council and the chief of police owed the community and county an apology for such negative statements about black police officers.
Cureton said “never in my lifetime would I have expected a black officer to be discriminated against based on our diversity in the community, especially on the police department.”
Cureton asked for future police department promotions to “be fair, impartial and unbiased and no personal feelings about an ethnic group,” in remarks to the council June 26.
Suffern was present at the council meeting, listened to Cureton, but did not respond to his remarks. Moreover, no council member or mayor responded at the meeting to Cureton.
“The NAACP is going to stand fast with this. We’ve consulted our counsel throughout the state, and as with Elmwood Park, we are going to keep looking in and addressing these current concerns,” Cureton said via phone July 2.
Cureton said the NAACP would monitor the city’s hiring and promotions process for the police department, fire department and public works department. He mentioned several residents have spoken to council members about alleged discrimination in hiring for the police and fire department.
Cureton said the NAACP wanted to wait after hearing news of the $380,000 racial bias lawsuit settlement due to a recent discrimination incident in Elmwood Park and another approximately two years ago in Wyckoff, where the police chief sent an email apparently condoning racial profiling. The police chief, Benjamin Fox, was suspended, demoted, and retired in 2016 after his email comments were made public.
In Cureton’s letter to Northern Valley Press, he said allegedly discriminatory statements against African Americans made by Suffern included that “black officers are lazy, do not work hard, and fail to take actions that better their situation.”
Cureton called that a “…profound and insulting statement.”
Cureton also called for “sensitivity training” for all city employees “to ensure that the working environment is unbiased and allows for an equal chance to succeed.” Cureton said NAACP would assist in a partnership “to promote a healthy environment free of discrimination.”
Asked to respond to the NAACP’s letter and demands for an apology, Suffern stressed that the daily newspaper article that previously appeared was not factual.
“Unfortunately none of the information in the article was fact-checked other than assertions made by an employee,” wrote Suffern via email.
Reached July 3 by phone, Suffern said all allegations made by the NAACP “are completely untrue” and that Cureton simply took statements from a legal complaint filed by Savage against him verbatim.
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No apologies
Asked if he felt the need to apologize for negative statements he allegedly made regarding black police officers, Suffern said “I do not” and called the NAACP efforts attacking him “really disturbing” given that the NAACP is an organization that stands for equality.
Suffern said it seemed Cureton’s allegations against him might be from a personal disagreement.
Cureton, a former Englewood police officer, and Suffern, have known each other for decades.
Suffern said Cureton did not speak with him before making his allegations against the chief. He said there was “no fact-finding” by the NAACP in charges against him.
“It could be a personal attack on me, not the issues at hand,” said Suffern, who acknowledged having disagreements with Cureton when the NAACP president served as a police officer.
Calls were placed to all council members July 3 for comment.
Both Councilman Charles Cobb and Councilwoman Katharine Glynn said they had not seen the NAACP’s letter. Both Glynn and Cobb said they may comment in the future on NAACP’s charges of racial discrimination.
Both Councilman Michael Cohen and Council President Wayne Hamer’s mailboxes were full and did not allow messages to be left.
“If there’s a problem, we’re going to address it,” said Cobb July 3. He said there was “a process” to go through before council members might address concerns raised by the NAACP.
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