Town Pays $80K To Settle Jewish Officer's Discrimination Lawsuit In Somerset

MONTGOMERY, NJ — The township has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a Jewish police officer who claimed he was repeatedly passed over for promotion after reporting a superior officer's religiously charged comments.

Jason Clifford had served in the Montgomery Police Department since 2004, according to the lawsuit.

In May 2024, Clifford and other officers were at a department firearms qualification session and barbecue when Sgt. Ryan Gray asked Clifford "Is that meat kosher," and added, "Will you be drinking Manischewitz when you go home tonight?" according to the lawsuit. Other officers were present, the suit says.

Clifford said he is the only Jewish officer ever hired to the department. The lawsuit described him as having an "unspoiled, pristine, second-to-none, and virtually unblemished" record.

Gray's "racist and prejudicial comments were made by him with the express intent to humiliate, denigrate, and belittle Clifford in the eyes of other officers," Clifford said in the lawsuit.

Clifford reported the comments to a superior later that month. That triggered an Internal Affairs investigation. The department later found Gray had violated departmental rules and would face discipline, according to the lawsuit.

Soon after, Clifford was ranked 10th out of 14 candidates for a sergeant promotion. He called the ranking "incomprehensibly and inexplicably" low, and claimed it was retaliation for his report — his third bypass for the rank, after earlier ones in 2014 and 2017.

Gray retired from the department on Aug. 30, 2024.

The parties mediated in August 2025. On Oct. 28, 2025, they reached a conditional deal: Clifford would be promoted to sergeant, retire Jan. 1, 2026, and receive $50,000. But the New Jersey Division of Pension and Benefits rejected the promotion. That voided the deal.

Talks resumed. The township's offer rose to $75,000, then $80,000. On Feb. 5 Clifford's attorney emailed "we are settled," according to a certification filed by the township's lawyer. But when Clifford's side sent back a revised agreement later that month, the township said it changed key terms. The township moved to enforce the settlement on Feb. 27.

The two sides reached a final deal the following month.

Montgomery Township will pay Clifford $62,500 for back pay and alleged injuries. His law firm, The Toscano Law Firm, LLC, will receive $17,500 in fees. The agreement does not admit any wrongdoing by the township.

The settlement includes a confidentiality clause. But under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, government settlements stay public even with such clauses. The agreement itself says as much.

Clifford agreed to drop all claims against the township and Gray. Two separate workers' compensation claims are not affected — one from 2021, and one from 2023, when Clifford was hit by a horse trailer while directing traffic.

Clifford's retirement is effective April 1. The Montgomery Township Committee approved the settlement on March 19, according to documents.

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