On April 30, 2014, the City of Bridgeton (Cumberland County) and Bridgeton Police Sergeant Steven Corey settled Corey's November 14, 2013 appeal of a disciplinary action taken against him. The reasons underlying the disciplinary action were not disclosed. The settlement document is on-line here.
According to the handwritten "terms and conditions" attached to the settlement agreement, the City agreed to rescind Corey's October 29, 2013 termination and place him on administrative leave until he retired on July 1, 2014. The City also agreed to reinstate his health benefits, provide him with back pay from his date of termination through to the date of the agreement and reduce a 30-day suspension to an administrative rule regulation. The agreement provides that Corey may retire sooner than July 1, 2014 if such was approved by the pension board.
As his part of the agreement, Corey promised to never again work in law enforcement in Bridgeton, except for as a school board security monitor, not to apply to Bridgeton for a firearms identification card and to waive any accumulated personal and vacation time.
Apparently concerned about adverse publicity, thee agreement also states that "neither party shall release information to the media." The settlement is contingent upon approval by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. As of this writing, I have not obtained information from the Commission as to whether approval was granted.
This appeal is not Corey's first litigation with the City. According to a December 2, 2010 article in the South Jersey Times, Corey received a $75,000 settlement for his claim that "he was kidnapped from a local pub by former by former chief Jeff Wentz and a former police lieutenant and involuntarily confined to a psychiatric ward in 2006."