Fired Indian American Cop Sues Former Employer

An Indian-origin ex-policeman has sued his former employer for discrimination based on race, color, and national origin.

Suresh Madhavan, a resident of New Jersey joined the police force in 2003 and worked until 2016 when he was fired from the job. In his lawsuit against the Wall Township Police Department, he claimed that he was regularly subjected to discrimination based on his skin color and place of origin while his co-workers would pass racist remarks which led to a hostile work environment.

Madhavan was fired following an internal investigation related to a sex tape in which Madhavan was accused of lying. He allegedly made a sex tape of his senior who used to bring a mistress to Madhavan’s house. Madhavan has claimed that he deleted the video. The lawsuit claimed that the superior officer pressurized the plaintiff (Madhavan) to let him use his home for his extramarital affai

Madhavan has further noted that the department was a hundred percent white/Caucasian when he was hired in 2003 and only in 2012 did the department start hiring minority people.

According to the lawsuit, Madhavan was often subject to racially derogatory remarks, referring to him as Benson which is an Afro-American character from television, using the word nigger and cultural references saying how Madhavan likes “chicken” and “watermelon.” Moreover, he claimed that despite having experience, he was passed over for a promotion and a white officer promoted in his place.

The lawsuit further claimed that the department nurtured an environment where the superintendent could abuse the position of his power to harass the subordinate officers.  Madhavan claimed that the department had a set of terms like negro, animals, spooks, monkey, etc. when referring to the black community.

Further, he stated that a hidden video was placed which recorded Madhavan and other officers in uncomfortable positions.

Madhavan’s lawsuit was accompanied by another officer who filed a separate lawsuit against the department.

Communications Supervisor Nicholas Curcio, currently on unpaid leave, filed a lawsuit where he sued the department for nurturing a racially discriminated environment. He claimed he was often called “half-black” and said, “you look like a black guy” by his colleagues who made fun of his type I Diabetes which resulted in discoloration of his legs.

In response to the lawsuits, Jeff Bertrand, Wall Township Administrator, told Asbury Park Press, “Wall Township takes every one of these allegations very seriously. We were not aware of the amended complaint …. when we received a call from the media, but we are reviewing the document.”