Cop vs Cop Lawsuits: Infighting Between Cops Costing New Jersey Taxpayers Millions

By Sally Herships
The day Cassandra Smith was promoted to captain in the Camden Police Department, she went outside to check out the unmarked car that would be hers. She had been excited to drive the car home — but found the inside covered with cigar ashes and needing a good cleaning. Then she found three bags of crack in the door pocket.

“This is big league. It’s hardball. Possession of cocaine is a criminal offense, I could have very well — not just ended up being terminated, but could have virtually ended up in jail,” Smith said.

Smith believes one of her colleagues on the Camden force planted the drugs in the car because he was angry a woman was going to be captain.

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“Either you leave police services,” said Smith, who noted that she loved her job, “or you take a stand. And I took a stand.”

What ensued was a long legal battle that spanned about six years. The case is just one of hundreds in New Jersey where police officers sue their department or fellow cops. A year-long New Jersey Public Radio investigation has found that internal squabbles among police departments are costing more in settlement and legal costs than cases in which civilians sue the police. The numbers point to an ineffective internal affairs system – and a failure by the state to track the growing cost, which ultimately drives up local property taxes.

Between 2009 and 2012, the public paid over $49 million in legal fees, settlements and other costs relating to lawsuits involving the police in New Jersey. About $19.5 million went to cases where civilians sued — but taxpayers spent $29 million on lawsuits brought by police.

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