Former NJ officer gets court win in fight to speak out about sex discrimination in department

A now-retired police sergeant believes a new ruling by New Jersey’s highest court validates her first amendment right to speak out about a pattern of alleged sexual discrimination in the department where she worked.

In a unanimous decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court justices ruled that a 2019 law passed in the state barring non-disclosure agreements designed to prohibited victims of discrimination from going public should also apply to so-called non-disparagement clauses.

Retired Neptune Township Police Sergeant Christine Savage said that decision is vindication for her and everyone else who was made to keep quiet.

“It means everything to me. It means everything to other victims in the world that are suffering in the same silence. You can’t buy silence. You can’t bully people into silence," she said.

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Savage, who settled a previous discrimination lawsuit against the Township, settled a second retaliation claim with the township in July 2020. She signed a non-disparagement agreement not to discuss past practices of the police department.

“I only had two choices in front of me,” Savage told the I-Team after the court’s decision. “Lose my pension and get fired or settle.”

In an interview with NBC New York the month after she signed the agreement, Savage did not discuss the past, but described what she said was an ongoing culture.

“They don’t want women there,” she told the I-Team. “It’s not going to change. It’s the good ol’ boy system.”

The Township sued Savage, claiming she had violated the settlement. The Supreme Court justices listened to oral arguments in January, and have now ruled in Savage’s favor. They also lifted all restrictions on her speaking out about the treatment she says she received.

“It’s a much bigger decision because it applies to any agreement that can potentially be used to silence a victim of discrimination. So the label doesn’t matter," said Donald Burke Jr., Savage’s attorney.

"You think it’s about you but it becomes about other victims. I’ve made case law. It was a long journey—I didn’t know where it was going to go," said Savage. "But at the end of the day, we win. Our voices won."

Neptune Township did not respond to repeated requests for comment. They are ordered to pay Savage’s legal fees and court costs.