Ex-Stratford cop claims religious discrimination in lawsuit vs. town
A former Stratford cop has sued the town alleging he was discriminated against because he is Jewish.
A seven-page lawsuit filed July 12 by the former officer, Maxwell Bernstein, seeks more than $15,000 in lost wages, benefits and back pay plus other damages.
According to the suit, Bernstein, who worked at the department approximately eight years, “has been the subject of a prolonged period of harassment and has been discriminated against based on his religious affiliation” from 2015 to 2019.
Bernstein's lawyer did not return messages seeking comment, but an attorney representing the town disputed the former officer's allegations.
“The town denies any and all liability,” attorney Richard Buturla said in en email Friday. “We will defend this matter vigorously.”
In a motion to dismiss, the town has asked a judge to throw the case out of court because the claims are outside the statute of limitations. A court date is scheduled Monday.
While not commenting on the lawsuit itself, Police Chief Joseph McNeil said in an email Friday that “We are a diverse and inclusive department.”
The complaint does not allege any overtly anti-Semitic acts, but says Bernstein, who over the course of his career was the subject of four internal affairs investigations, was treated more harshly than others because of his faith.
“The Plaintiff was the only Jewish patrolman in a department of approximately 110 employees,” the lawsuit says. “As a member of a protected class, the Plaintiff experienced discrimination and a different standard of treatment than anyone else in the department. The Plaintiff 's treatment by the Defendant has been unparalleled, as no other Patrolman has gone through the level of scrutiny and investigation as he has.”
The lawsuit does not detail the prior internal affairs complaints, but says three of them “were initiated internally despite the alleged ‘victims' advising the administration that they had not filed any complaint, nor did they wish to.”
It says Bernstein was suspended from patrol and “forced” to go on modified duty but not allowed to carry a weapon or wear anything identifying him as a police officer.
“In contrast, other non-Jewish Patrolmen and supervisors have remained on full duty with no restrictions despite outrageous and even illegal conduct,” the lawsuit says. “Specific incidents include having their firearms stolen and being used in the commission of a crime, engaging in fights with the public while off duty, engaging in a pursuit with a prisoner secured in the rear of a police cruiser, and being under investigation for failing to make domestic violence arrests.”
The lawsuit says that on June 22, 2019, during a roll call prior to his shift, a Stratford police lieutenant mentioned an anonymous complaint that had been received. After Bernstein raised questions about the complaint, the lawsuit says the lieutenant “began yelling and personally attacking” Bernstein.
Later, the lawsuit says the lieutenant “berated” Bernstein in front of another officer “and in full view of the general public” on a call.
“This attack was humiliating, personal, and unwarranted,” the lawsuit says.
But it was the lieutenant who went on to make a formal complaint about Bernstein's questions during roll call, according to the suit, after which Bernstein was put on modified duty and lost tens of thousands of dollars “in missed private duty and overtime opportunities during an extremely busy time with limited manpower.”
Eventually, the lawsuit says Bernstein received a 15-day unpaid suspension, which it says was “excessive and discriminatory in nature.”
The lawsuit also claims that after filing a complaint about what happened with the state's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Bernstein was removed and “banned” from the police department's “Eagle 1” helicopter program, where he “greatly enjoyed working.”
The lawsuit does not detail how Bernstein left the department's employ, but says that police brass caused him “fatigue, sleeplessness, worry, anxiety, depression, and the inability to eat, exhaustion, and severe emotional distress.”