An Old Bridge police officer was recently disciplined in connection with a public letter he wrote last year.
OLD BRIDGE -- A township police officer plans to appeal an administrative ruling to discipline him in connection with a public letter he wrote last year questioning the claims of a township councilman.
Officer Vincent Galgano was recently stripped of three sick days following an administrative hearing over an October 2015 letter to the editor he wrote to MyCentralJersey.com. In the letter, Galgano questioned the claims of Councilman Brian Cahill about the status of the township's police department, according to his attorney, Charles Sciarra, of Clifton.
"They are trying to stifle dissent," Sciarra said. "They do not want anyone opposing their power, and punishing someone on the payroll is how they retaliate."
About a month before Galgano's letter appeared, Cahill had written his own letter to the editor saying that Mayor Owen Henry had "provided the police department new weaponry, state-of-the-art equipment" and was "implementing a multi-million dollar radio system which will link police, fire and EMS across the township."
Galgano, a 17-year veteran of the force, wrote in his letter that the police department had not received any new weaponry and was "still using old radios that break down quite frequently," causing a public safety issue.
Shortly after Galgano's letter -- which came right in the midst of Henry's and Cahill's re-election campaign last year -- the township administration requested Internal Affairs investigations related to the political activities of Galgano and another township police officer in a separate matter, previous reports said.
Earlier this month, a hearing judge ruled to strip Galgano of three sick days for writing a letter without permission, according to Sciarra.
Sciarra believes the decision was politically-motivated retaliation that violated Galgano's First Amendment rights.
"In fact, the courts have noted that it is a public employee who has the most access to the (inner workings) in the public sphere and needs first amendment protections the most," Sciarra said by email.
He said he plans to appeal the decision in Middlesex County Superior Court.
"I fully expect an actual judge who is not their hand-picked and paid for hangman to give them the constitutional beat down this deserves," he added, referencing the hearing judge hired by the township to preside over the administrative matter against Galgano.
Henry declined to comment on the decision and possible appeal saying it was a personnel matter.
In response to whether he felt the discipline against Galgano for publicly questioning a township official was appropriate, Cahill said, "I think it's a fine line."
Cahill said he wasn't involved in the administrative process against Galgano and that it was handled by township Administrator Christopher Marion.
"If there was something administratively that he shouldn't have done, I'm sure Mr. Marion handled it appropriately," Cahill said. "But that's not for me to judge."
Marion on Tuesday declined to specifically comment on the disciplinary ruling, saying, "in accordance with departmental policies and procedures and attorney general's guidelines, any police officer who is dissatisfied with a disciplinary hearing has the right to appeal."
Additionally, Marion said the township is still in the process of implementing the radio system, adding that there had been a few snags with the installation.
"We are currently working on the radio system implementation plan. It should be completed in January," he said.
Sciarra said once he files the appeal, he expects a hearing to be scheduled in early 2017.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.