Estate of Oliva v. New Jersey, No. 09-2082; Third Circuit; opinion by Greenberg, U.S.C.J.; filed May 4, 2010. Before Judges McKee, Barry and Greenberg. On appeal from the District of New Jersey. [Sat below: Judge Irenas.] DDS No. xx-8-xxxx [34 pp.]
The Division of State Police in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety employed appellant John Oliva as a state trooper from November 1998 until his suicide on Oct. 1, 2002. Oliva’s complaint alleged that during this four-year period, both while he was on active duty and while he was on leave, numerous individuals connected with the State Police harassed him in reaction to his objections to what he believed was a State Police practice to profile motorists when making traffic stops, i.e., “the practice of using stereotypes to select which motorists a trooper will stop, detain and search.” Oliva’s complaint alleged that the harassment involved a variety of actions, including unjustified transfers of his duty station, unjustified negative performance notices, misconduct investigations, adverse medical recommendations, threatening notes, and verbal confrontations. Since the time of his death Oliva’s estate has prosecuted the action.
