Two Denville Police officers are suing the township and its top ranking officers in two lawsuits, peppered with allegations they were retaliated against for reporting other officers’ misconduct that involved “double dipping” and theft of time.

Sgt. Richard Duda, hired in 2004 as a patrol officer and promoted in 2019, and Patrolman Christopher Ordway, hired in 2012, claim in their respective suits a litany of vengeful actions against them and a hostile work environment for voicing concerns they say went against state laws, public and police policy and risked the safety of Denville residents, according to the suits filed in state Superior Court in Morris County earlier this month.

Duda and Ordway name the township, Chief Frank Perna and Capt. Scott Welsch in their suits, with Ordway adding Lt. Scott Revis and Capt. Jeff Tucker to his, and both men are being represented by Nicholas Milewski, an Iselin-based attorney.

Perna said in an email that Denville officials are unable to provide comment on pending litigation, but said in the proper venues, “the township intends to vigorously defend the allegations contained in the lawsuits.”

Perna added that both men are still actively working in the department.

Theft of time, ‘double dipping,’ denied promotion claims

Duda claims supervisors retaliated against him after he reported a captain for “double dipping,” or getting paid by the town while also working an emergency repair job. The captain later “resigned,” and denied any wrongdoing, Duda said.

He reported another captain for allegedly spending hours at home while pocketing taxpayer dollars, only returning to work to clock out, the suit states. Duda later reported the same captain for using the department-issued Command Center vehicle for personal use on several occasions, such as attending a retirement party and a wedding with his family, Duda claims. During a fire at a senior living facility, Duda alleges he requested the captain bring the vehicle to assist with the evacuation of residents, but did not receive response until after the incident was resolved, placing residents at increased risk of danger.

Duda said in retaliation with “hopes he would fail,” the chief moved him from the traffic division to the position of road sergeant, a position that does not offer as many opportunities for overtime as his prior positions did. Duda said that move happened despite Duda wishing to work in the community services position. Duda said he has experience as a school resource officer, but the role was given to an officer who had previously been removed from the position due to complaints, he said. He also claims that due to worries of further retaliation, he was too fearful to apply for a promotion to lieutenant.

Duda said he is no longer referred to by his rank by the chief and by the captain he reported, which is common courtesy among officers; is often “repeatedly stared down” by the captain in an “attempt to incite an argument;” and for the first time in his 22-year career, he received negative remarks on his performance review earlier this year, the suit claims.

Ordway, who serves as president of the police union, said he reported a patrolman for receiving “hundreds of hours” of overtime while he was actively working, and shortly after, found himself in the middle of an internal affairs investigation, his suit claims. He alleges he was accused of not reporting the patrolman sooner, despite his claims he reported the officer’s alleged misconduct via the chain of command.

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Ordway said he was also given a negative review after he kept a suspect on an active warrant in jail overnight, again claiming he was wrongly punished despite receiving approval from his supervisor to do so. Ordway said he has a serious medical condition and was approved to work from home during the COVID pandemic in 2020, but was then disciplined for it.

Ordway informed administrators that a captain — the same captain Duda reported several times — and a lieutenant were “actively stealing time from the township on a daily basis” and were often late to work, would change their work schedules for personal time, were unaccounted for during the work day and would often leave work early, the suit claims.

Earlier this year, Ordway claims he was removed from his position as a range instructor after he filed an Open Public Records Act request seeking Perna’s salary.

Ordway alleges shortly after reporting the same captain that Duda did for “double dipping,” he was retaliated against and given a negative performance review for the first time in his career. He also claims he was denied a promotion to detective in 2019, 2023 and this year and also denied an opportunity to be a field training officer.

Ordway also claims his activity in the police union has caused “adverse action” against him. In late 2023, Ordway said he endured even more retaliation after he initiated a motion of no confidence against the chief of police, which passed. A fellow officer notified the chief that Duda was the one who raised the idea of motion to the membership.

Duda and Ordway claim in their suits that they endured pain and suffering, causing them extreme and severe emotional distress. Each are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Denville NJ police officers file suits for retaliation