NEWARK, NJ – A Bloomfield firefighter has filed a federal lawsuit accusing a coworker and the township of racial discrimination and maintaining a hostile work environment following two separate incidents in which a noose was displayed and thrown at him during department training sessions.
The complaint, filed November 16 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, names firefighter Patrick Thomas as the plaintiff and lists the Township of Bloomfield, the Bloomfield Fire Department, Fire Chief, firefighter Walter Coffey, and several unnamed defendants.
Thomas alleges that Bloomfield officials failed to act after multiple racist incidents, including one in which a coworker tied and tossed a hangman’s noose toward him while laughing in front of other firefighters.
Key Points
- Firefighter Patrick Thomas filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Bloomfield Fire Department and several officials.
- Thomas alleges coworker Walter Coffey displayed and threw a noose at him during two 2023 training sessions.
- Coffey was later criminally charged and entered a pre-trial intervention program.
Lawsuit details two racially charged incidents
According to court filings, the first incident occurred on November 8, 2023, during a rope and knot training session when firefighter Walter Coffey allegedly told Thomas there was “a noose upstairs on the table.” When Thomas questioned the remark, Coffey smirked and denied knowing who placed it there.
Eight days later, during another training session, Coffey allegedly tied a hangman’s noose, threw it at Thomas, and said, “I want you to figure out what kind of knot this is.” Thomas responded that he recognized it as a noose used to lynch his ancestors, but Coffey allegedly continued laughing as others looked on.
Criminal case and departmental response
Following the November 16 incident, the Bloomfield Fire Department opened an internal investigation, which was paused when the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office assumed control. Coffey was charged on December 14, 2023, with fourth-degree bias intimidation under New Jersey law and indicted by a grand jury in April 2024.
He was later admitted into the state’s Pre-Trial Intervention program, allowing him to avoid a criminal conviction if he meets specific conditions.
Thomas’s lawsuit claims Bloomfield tolerated a “pattern and policy” of racial harassment, alleging that Coffey had used racial slurs for years without discipline. The suit seeks damages for discrimination, retaliation, and emotional distress.
The Township of Bloomfield and the Fire Department have not publicly commented on the pending litigation.