Three police officers filed a lawsuit against the Town of Saugerties earlier this month claiming municipal officials unlawfully disregarded legal requirements in appointing Kenneth (K.J.) Swart police chief, arguing that his appointment was improper as he had yet to take the necessary civil service exam.
The 20-page complaint was filed in Ulster County Supreme Court on Friday, January 10 by retired Saugerties Police Captain Stephen W. Filak Sr., Ulster Town Police Lt. James Seyfarth and Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Abram Markiewicz. The defendants include the Ulster County Department of Personnel, the Town of Saugerties, and the Saugerties Town Board. Albany-area Attorney Stephen G. DeNigris, representing the petitioners, could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit seeks to invalidate Swart’s appointment, saying, “The selection of Kenneth J. Swart, Jr. now encumbering the chief of police position…was improper, as the selectee was not a qualified candidate for the role.”
Swart was unanimously appointed chief on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 after serving in an interim capacity during a period of transition for the Saugerties Police Department. In September 2023, longtime chief Joseph Sinagra resigned from his position around two months after being placed on administrative leave in the wake of a state attorney general’s office investigation, which claimed to have found evidence of inappropriate sexual conduct by then-Officer Dion Johnson, recommending his termination. In announcing Sinagra’s being placed in administrative leave in July 2023, Town Supervisor Fred Costello cited the controversy and Sinagra’s handling of Johnson’s case as factors impacting the police department’s performance. Sinagra has since filed his own lawsuit against the town.
Late last week, Costello responded to the lawsuit involving Swart’s appointment.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “It feels like we get sued once a week Fortunately, we’ve done well as we go through the court process, but it still takes time .And even when we win, there’s the cost of defense so it’s it’s not my favorite use of time or resources. That being said, we can’t stop people from exercising their rights under the law and these gentlemen have expressed a grievance. But I disagree with it.”
According to town officials, civil service concerns had been resolved prior to Swart’s appointment. The lawsuit claims otherwise, stating that Swart passed a civil service exam for police chief on March 5, 2016, but that the test was not appropriate for the duties of the current role of chief. The suit further claims that Swart was not included on the civil service list of eligible candidates ahead of his appointment. That list featured six names, including the three petitioners. Of those, Seyfarth scored a 90 percent on his exam, while Filak and Markiewicz each scored 80 percent.
The lawsuit claims Swart’s appointment was: “arbitrary and capricious,” and in violation of civil service laws. It further claims that Swart might be forced to revert to his status as lieutenant if the eligibility list was honored.
Costello said he believed the town acted appropriately in appointing Swart as police chief.
“We worked closely with civil service, both state and local, before we made an appointment and we’re confident that the guidance we received was the correct guidance,” he said.
The supervisor added that he expects the process to unfold with deliberate detail after the town passed on the lawsuit to their insurance carrier.
“The carrier will assign counsel, counsel will likely interview us and we will share with them the information that we have from the civil service guidance that we receive from the county and the state and then they’ll likely talk to the representation for the plaintiffs. And if that doesn’t resolve it, they’ll have to go through the courts.”
Costello said he couldn’t predict how long the various stages of discovery and hearings might last, or whether there might be opportunities to settle the lawsuit prior to court proceedings.
“I don’t have the legal background to give a credible answer,” he said, adding that within the next few weeks the town should be notified of who will represent them, and that by the end of winter he expects they will have established a relationship allowing the matter to proceed.
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