RSS 2.0 FeedAugust 19, 2010, Freeport-Baldwin Leader
Lawsuit against village alleges racism
Freeport Police Lieutenant alleges racism is the reason for her demotion from deputy chief.
Freeport police Lieutenant Debbie Zagaja is suing the Village of Freeport and Mayor Andrew Hardwick alleging that race and gender were the reasons for her demotion from her position as a deputy chief.
A federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip on Wednesday, August 11, stating she lost the opportunity to be promoted and was demoted because she is a white female.
“[Mayor] Hardwick continues to harass, terminate, demote and otherwise negatively effect the terms and conditions of employment for white employees while hiring and promoting unqualified black and Hispanic individuals,” the lawsuit states.
In particular, the lawsuit refers to the promotion of an Hispanic police lieutenant, Miguel Bermudez, to the position of assistant chief, as well as the demotions of the superintendents of both the Department of Public Works and the Department of Buildings. “It seems particularly unfair that I or this village should be accused of discrimination and that hardworking village employees are being unjustly targeted solely to create a baseless story,” said a prepared statement from Mayor Hardwick. “The village will fight this bogus lawsuit; we will not allow an atmosphere of racism and bigotry to prevail.”
Debra Zagaja, a resident of Merrick, is a 24-year Freeport police veteran and the second woman hired by the village to be a police officer. In 2007 she was the first female in the department to rise to the rank of deputy chief, the third-highest ranking position in the department after chief and assistant chief. Ms. Zagaja had been recommended for this position by then-Chief of Police Michael Woodward.
She holds degrees in psychology and sociology and has worked as a uniformed cop, undercover cop, detective, field training officer, watch commander and deputy chief of the department, said her attorney, Sara Kane of Valli, Kane & Vagnini. “She [Lieutenant Zagaja] is the only person [in the department] who has this kind of experience,” stated Ms. Kane, adding that if “someone black or Hispanic was as qualified for this position, we wouldn’t be here.”
“I understand discrimination, whether it involves race, gender, religion – whatever. It’s something I have lived through and I vowed many years ago to fight it wherever I found it,” said Mayor Hardwick in his prepared statement. He was elected to a four-year term in March of 2009 and began to replace many individuals in supervisory positions.
During his campaign, Mayor Hardwick promised “to change Freeport,” and during a candidates’ debate in early March told residents he was concerned about Freeport’s bad reputation with regard to its crime rate. (Shawn Randall, president of the Freeport Police Benevolent Association, later disputed those claims, providing statistics at a village board meeting.) “I was elected by the residents of Freeport because of our Village’s diversity and the strength that it brings.
Freeport is the second largest village in the State of New York and one of the most diverse places on Long Island,” reads Mayor Hardwick’s prepared statement. The 2000 Census indicated the population is approximately 42.9% white, 32.6% African-American and 33.5% Hispanic of any race.
During his first year in office, Mayor Hardwick replaced a number of people in supervisory positions and publicly made no apologies for his appointments, even when Village Trustees Bill White and Jorge Martinez objected, saying they were not given ample time to review an individual’s qualifications. “It’s important for me to establish my cabinet,” said Mayor Hardwick. “I have to feel good about my cabinet, “ he told trustees at the July 27, 2009, village board meeting.
In the Police Department, both the chief and assistant chief retired and in October of 2009 Ms. Zagaja was told she would be demoted to lieutenant. Over the past year, a number of raucous village board meetings have made some residents unhappy about the direction the village is taking.
In January, a former part-time village attorney complained about the mayor’s hiring procedures and salary increases for new hirees. In March Freeport police union President Randall and 25 members of the Freeport PBA expressed concern over the sudden elimination of the position of deputy chief that was held by Lieutenant Zagaja, to which the mayor replied that he was “looking for new leadership.”
He said that the deputy chief and assistant chief positions were not Civil Service ranks but were jobs created under the former mayor. At the March 21 village board meeting, racially-tinged remarks about the police by Corey Pegues, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, drew the ire of many residents who were also unhappy about a controversial New York state Assembly bill to permit the mayor to directly appoint the top officials in the Police Department, including the chief of police, from outside of Freeport, if he chooses. The bill was later withdrawn.
Mayor Hardwick also filed a lawsuit regarding a Civil Service exam for the position of police chief but later settled that suit. According to Lieutenant Zagaja’s lawsuit, she was one of the “top three to score on the test,” as well “as having all the previous requirements including a minimum of four years experience in the prior rank,” the lawsuit states.
“[Lieutenant] Zagaja is a highly decorated, respected, and valued member of the uppermost level of the FPD. She is experienced, qualified and worthy of a command staff position, and because of her gender and race she was dismissed out of hand and never considered by [Mayor] Hardwick.
Instead, [Mr.] Hardwick searched high and low and attempted to change laws and regulations for the pure reason of keeping [Ms.] Zagaja from her well-deserved position,” states the lawsuit. “I’m saddened,” said Lieutenant Zagaja at a press conference last week.
“I have given 24 years of my life serving the community. I love my job, but I don’t like what I see. It’s about justice.”
But Mayor Hardwick sees it another way. “My responsibility is to the people of Freeport, and not to let any lawsuit create divisiveness where there is none. We will not allow racism or bigotry to be a part of the village’s essential fabric. Mrs. Freeport is my home and I am proud to continue to serve her people as her mayor.”
