November 23, 2025
Black firefighter Patrick Thomas claims a colleague focused him with a noose and repeated slurs.
A Bloomfield, New Jersey, firefighter has launched a $25 million federal lawsuit accusing the township, fireplace division management, and a fellow firefighter of racially motivated intimidation—allegations that middle on the repeated look of a noose contained in the firehouse.
Patrick Thomas, certainly one of solely 4 Black firefighters in a fireplace division of almost 80, first went public in December 2023, stating that his colleague, veteran firefighter Walter Coffey, confronted him with a rope tied right into a noose whereas on responsibility. Thomas recalled Coffey handing him the rope and saying, “I need you to determine what sort of knot that is.”
As reported by Patch, Thomas mentioned he instantly acknowledged the intent. “It is a noose,” he informed Coffey. “That is what individuals used to hold my ancestors from bushes.”
Based on the grievance, the incident wasn’t remoted. Thomas alleges that only a week earlier, Coffey informed him about one other noose upstairs earlier than a coaching class. Attorneys additionally say Coffey—employed by the division for roughly 25 years—has repeatedly used the N-word round Black firefighters with out going through self-discipline.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Workplace investigated and in the end charged and indicted Coffey for bias intimidation. Coffey was suspended with out pay after the November 2023 report and stays on unpaid depart whereas the township strikes towards termination.
Thomas’ lawsuit seeks tens of millions in damages for what his attorneys describe as “lack of liberty, emotional misery, humiliation, lack of property, prices and bills, and different damages and accidents.”
Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell addressed the lawsuit this week, saying the township “reaffirms its zero tolerance stance” towards racism.
“The Township of Bloomfield takes critically its duty to make sure a protected and respectful office for all staff,” Mundell mentioned. “There’s completely no place for racist conduct or discrimination of any form … and such habits can be met with swift accountability.”
She emphasised that officers referred the case to regulation enforcement instantly and took departmental motion the identical day it was reported. “Walter Coffey stays on unpaid suspension and has not been permitted to return to responsibility,” she mentioned, noting that his indictment underscores that “racist conduct won’t be tolerated in Bloomfield.”
Mundell added that whereas litigation introduced by Thomas limits what the township can publicly talk about, its values stay clear: “Racial harassment not solely violates the regulation, it violates our core commitments to security, dignity, and respect.”
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