By Alfonso A. Castillo
Newsday
NASSAU, N.Y. — The Nassau Police Department violated federal law when it reassigned four police officers out of their longtime jobs in the department’s Marine Bureau into lower paying jobs because they were all over 50, a federal lawsuit filed yesterday charges.
The suit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the four current and former cops, and seeks to get the quartet reinstated in their positions and back pay.
“The Nassau County Police Department, which is responsible for upholding the law, ignored its legal responsibilities and discriminated against these officers,” said EEOC attorney Judy Keenan of Manhattan.
The suit was filed after the police department rejected a proposed $450,000 settlement that would cover a year’s worth of damages to the officers, as well as attorney fees.
Lawrence Coleman, 61, Arthur D’Alessandro, 58, Robert Macaulay, 55, and Joseph Petrella, 53, had a combined 122 years of service when they were transferred last year. They won numerous awards for their service, according to documents in the case.
“They were replaced by three younger individuals without Marine Bureau experience,” Keenan said yesterday.
A spokesman for Nassau police said he could not comment on the pending suit, citing departmental policy.
D’Alessandro, Macaulay and Petrella did not return calls for comment yesterday. Coleman could not be reached. The Marine Bureau has 55 officers and patrols more than 220 square miles of waterways.
Police officials have said the officers were moved for not issuing enough summonses and overall poor performance, but the EEOC disputes that.
Coleman and Macaulay were forced to retire, the suit claims. D’Alessandro and Petrella remain in the department, but have taken “a significant financial hit” from losing the guaranteed overtime included in the Marine Bureau, Keenan said.
Maria Haberfeld, director of the law and police science department for John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, said police forces often have to deal with officers growing older on the job and less fit. Some departments do so by having age limits for certain details.
Haberfeld said a better answer is continued agility exams throughout an officer’s career.
Copyright 2007 Newsday