New Jersey Firefighter Files $25 Million Federal Civil Rights Suit Over Noose Incidents

A Bloomfield firefighter has filed suit in federal court alleging racial discrimination and a hostile work environment stemming from two separate incidents in which a coworker displayed and threw a noose at him during department training sessions. The complaint was filed November 16, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by firefighter Patrick Thomas against the Township of Bloomfield, the Bloomfield Fire Department, the fire chief, firefighter Walter Coffey, and several John Doe defendants.

The allegations are quoted here at length:

• Coffey has been employed by Bloomfield through the BFD as a firefighter since about the year 2000.
• During his tenure with the BFD, upon information and belief, Coffey has on numerous occasions used the derogatory term “ni&&er” in the presence of African American members of the BFD to harass, intimidate, and as a means of informing minorities of their status as inferior within the institution.
• Despite his objectively offensive use of racial epithets, Coffey was never subject to discipline or any consequence by Bloomfield or BFD demonstrating their pattern, custom, and policy of allowing unlawful discrimination in the workplace.
• On or about November 8, 2023, during a departmental training focused on rope and knot techniques used in firefighting, Coffey spontaneously approached Plaintiff and stated, “Thomas, there is a noose upstairs on the table, did you see it?”
• Plaintiff replied by asking, “Why would I want to see a noose?” and inquired if Coffey knew who was responsible for putting it on display. Coffey smirked and replied that he did not know.
• Coffey’s use of Plaintiff’s name reflects a level of familiarity from their working relationship and intention to specifically target him based on his racial identity as an African American.
• Said discriminatory act took place in the presence of numerous members of the BFD, including those with supervisory authority over Plaintiff in addition to an independent instructor.
• Nonetheless, there was no investigation, questioning, sanction, or other repercussion against Coffey for his actions in accord with custom of Bloomfield and the BFD to allow racial bias in the workplace.
• Such inaction on the part of the BFD and Bloomfield, in light of the fact that they knew or should have known about Coffey’s discriminatory behavior, is tantamount to a tacit endorsement of his actions.
• On November 16, 2023, a subsequent knot training session was held where Plaintiff, Coffey, supervisory officials, and several other firefighters were present.
• The session was conducted inside of a firehouse owned and operated by Bloomfield which was equipped with CCTV cameras.
• As the training was concluding, Coffey tied a hangman’s noose and threw it toward Plaintiff while laughing, stating, “I want you to figure out what kind of knot this is.”
• Plaintiff replied that, “I know exactly what this is, this is a noose. This is what people used to hang my ancestors from trees. You think this is funny?” Coffey’s only response was to continue laughing.
• This occurred in the presence of other firefighters, including those serving in a supervisory role, and the independent course instructor.
• Plaintiff’s initial shock from the boldness of Coffey’s actions were followed by rage, distress, and humiliation at the public display of racism while trying to exercise the official duties of his employment.

While not explicitly stated in the complaint, it appears that Thomas went out on stress leave after the November 16, 2023, noose incident. Bloomfield began an internal investigation but suspended it after the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office took over the matter. Coffey was criminally charged on December 14, 2023, with fourth-degree bias intimidation under N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1A(1). An Essex County Grand Jury indicted him on April 1, 2024, and he was later admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention program.

Thomas alleges that despite the criminal charges, Coffey remains employed by the Bloomfield Fire Department and that the municipality’s internal investigation has not been completed nearly two years later.

The suit also details Thomas’s claims of emotional and psychological injury following the incidents. He alleges that the department required him to use his sick time while disputing his workers’ compensation claim. According to the complaint, multiple clinicians—both independent and those selected by the township—diagnosed Thomas with psychological injuries related to the incident, and a recent evaluation concluded he was “unlikely to be restored to duty in a reasonable period of time.”

Thomas brings multiple causes of action, including federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, violations of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, racial discrimination and hostile work environment under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and common-law emotional distress claims. He seeks $25 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

The complaint also includes a section discussing the historical significance of nooses in the context of racial violence and lynching in the United States, explaining why the symbol carries profound and immediate meaning to African Americans.

Here is a copy of the complaint: