Hearings
continue for Bogota cop who filed discrimination suit over her possible firing
BOGOTA — Disciplinary hearings continue this week for the Bogota police
officer who was deemed unfit for duty after two incidents in April of 2011.
Officer Regina Tasca, who is gay and the only woman on the borough's
police force, recently filed suit against the town and her department, claiming
she'd been harassed and discriminated against.
Tasca faces charges including failure to assist a fellow officer and
conduct unbecoming of an officer, many of them stemming from an April 29, 2011
incident in which she interfered as two Ridgefield Park police officers
attempted to subdue an emotionally disturbed man.
Tasca claims that the officers were responding excessively — one punched
the man in the head during the struggle — and the video from her cruiser's dashboard
has become a central part of the case.
The case has caught the attention of a host of civil rights and
libertarian blogs, and has sparked on online petition and social media campaign
to reinstate Tasca, who is suspended with pay while the borough seeks to
dismiss her. Tasca recently showed The Record a stack of printed e-mails of
support.
Tasca's superiors allege that in addition to the April 29 incident, Tasca
also failed to assist another Bogota police officer during an altercation with
an intoxicated woman at a local hospital. They also said that while a 2010
psychological examination found her fit for duty, a subsequent exam following
the two incidents found Tasca unfit for duty.
Witness testimony continues Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at borough
hall in Bogota.