Judge gives Edison lingerie cop his gun and badge back
January 20, 2016 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
EDISON — In another legal setback for Edison’s efforts to fire a police officer who asked a woman to model underwear for him — in a scandal that has become known as the “lingerie episode” — a Superior Court judge has ordered the town to put the officer back to work, even as his legal battle continues.
Patrolman Anthony Sarni was fired in October, but earlier this month, Judge Douglas K. Wolfson reversed the town’s decision and said Sarni should get his job back. The town requested a stay — in other words, a delay in the order going into effect. Town officials wanted to keep Sarni out of work, even if it meant paying him to stay at home, while its legal team appealed the judge’s decisions and continued to pursue Sarni’s termination.
The judge denied that delay Tuesday, ruling that Sarni must return to work as his case progresses through the court system, according to Sarni’s attorney, Steven D. Cahn. The legal battle has already racked up huge legal bills, estimated in the six figures for Sarni’s defense, and taken more than three years.
http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2015/08/anthony_sarni_internal_affairs_documents.html
Sarni admitted to Internal Affairs detectives that he went back to a woman’s hotel room in September 2012 after an emergency call while he was off duty, but still in his uniform with his badge and gun. He also acknowledged that he asked the woman to try on several outfits that she’d purchased earlier in the day.
But he denied, contrary to the woman’s claims, that he tried to use marijuana he’d found in the room as leverage to get her to take her clothes off. He also denied he explicitly propositioned her for sex.
It is not clear when, exactly, Sarni will come back to work. He still must undergo a psychological evaluation.
Judge Wolfson ruled that the town was wrong to fire Sarni, because it waited too long to discipline him for the lingerie episode. The town claimed he lied to Internal Affairs investigators, but Wolfson decided that he only lied because of misleading questions.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
