Phillipsburg's first female police officer says colleagues groped and mocked her

Officer Haley Fitzpatrick, Phillipsburg's first female police officer, sued the Town of Phillipsburg, its police department and Officers Michael Connaughton and William Lance in Morris County Superior Court in August 2026. She alleges male officers made sexual remarks and made clear they did not want a woman on the force, that a captain warned about her before she was hired in February 2024, that Lance put his hand between her legs and grabbed her thigh in March 2025, and that both officers joked about her perceived sexual orientation. She says she reported this to supervisors and the chief and faced retaliation. An internal affairs review found one of Connaughton's comments violated department policy and did not sustain the other claims for lack of evidence. Mayor Randy Piazza said he could not comment on pending litigation; the chief and council did not respond. The case is pending.

No outcome recorded yet.