Morris cop caught in free speech vs. ‘pot-stirring’ tangle

MORRIS TWP. – Township Police Sgt. Sean O’Hare says he made an inappropriate attempt at humor but Police Chief John K. McGuinness says an email authored by O’Hare was “obscene” and undermined the township’s business administrator and police force.

A public disciplinary hearing against O’Hare, an 18-year veteran who was Officer of the Year in Morris Township in 2009, started Wednesday with the goal of determining whether O’Hare should be suspended for 10 to 20 days for disseminating an email that ridiculed Administrator Timothy F. Quinn, the former police chief.

Attorney Noel Shablik was hired as hearing officer and has the task of hearing testimony and deciding whether O’Hare is guilty of “conduct unbecoming a police officer” in violation of department rules and regulations.

Shablik will make findings and recommendations and pass them on to the township committee which ultimately will decide whether O’Hare should be punished. If found guilty, he stands to lose between $4,400 and $8,800 if a 10 to 20-day unpaid suspension is imposed by the committee.

O’Hare admittedly authored the email dated June 14, 2014 but says it was meant only for the eyes of members of Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 133, his own union. At the time, the rank-and-file set of the PBA was involved in contract negotiations and the township was offering a 2 percent wage increase, for each of four years. O’Hare is part of a subset of PBA 133 that covers superior officers, and contract talks at that time were on hold for those members.

Someone used the U.S. Post Office to anonymously mail Quinn a copy of the email, which he received on Sept. 8, 2014.

The email, entered into evidence during Wednesday’s hearing, contains a picture of O’Hare standing next to a fountain so that it appears he is urinating a stream high into the air. The text reads: “PBA 133’s latest correspondence with BA Quinn.....wash your mouth out with this Tim! Gargle with it! If you have to swallow, just swallow like 2 percent of it. Jerk off. Be safe! SPO.”

With a crowd of about 50 police officers from departments around the state observing the hearing at Town Hall, defense lawyer Ashley Whitney argued that the email was sent by O’Hare on his private email and is union-related speech protected by the First Amendment.

“The fact that an employee is a police officer does not lessen those rights,” Whitney said.

Township special Counsel John Iaciofano argued that O’Hare cannot hide behind the union-related speech rights because his specific subset of the PBA was not in contract talks when the email was disseminated.

At one point calling the defense argument “the protected union speech mirage,” Iaciofano said punishment is necessary because O’Hare, as a sergeant, supervises other officers and has the ability through such actions to undermine the integrity and efficiency of the department and township leaders.

Iaciofano called Quinn as his first witness. Quinn said he was not offended by the email but was “disappointed” that O’Hare wrote it. Quinn said he brought it to the attention of McGuinness, the police chief, who ordered an internal affairs investigation and then himself filed the conduct unbecoming a police officer charge against O’Hare in December 2014.

Quinn said the email had the potential effect of “stirring the pot,” and “creating friction” in the police department and township. McGuinness said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the image and text.

“I found it obscene,” McGuinness testified, saying the email was disrespectful not only to Quinn but to the department.

“As a sergeant, he has an obligation to positively influence subordinates,” Quinn testified. He also praised O’Hare’s abilities as an officer, saying he is especially skilled on medical calls.

Police Capt. Richard Ferrone was ordered to conduct the internal affairs probe. In October 2014, Ferrone interviewed O’Hare, who conceded on tape that the email was inappropriate. The 8-minute tape was played at the hearing.

On tape, O’Hare at first said the email was “similar” to one he sent but that it appeared to have been manipulated in some way but he did not elaborate. O’Hare told Ferrone he realized the email was inappropriate but it was meant to be “humor in the gist of things going on at the time.”

O’Hare expressed concern to Ferrone, on tape, why someone would forward a copy to Quinn three months after its distribution.

McGuinness testified that an effort was made to resolve the disciplinary charge without the need for a full-blown hearing but talks were not successful and he filed the administrative charge in December.

Ferrone said that, as the internal affairs officer, he recommended a suspension for O’Hare and stands by that belief.

“In this day and age where we as officers are under the microscope...this kind of behavior undermines the department,” Ferrone said.

After all the testimony is given, the hearing officer will hear final arguments and then prepare a written opinion and recommendations that will be forwarded to the township committee. The committee can accept, reject, dismiss the administrative charge, or modify the recommendations.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.