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Rockland County resident Joseph Saetta, a former Westchester County Police officer, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the county's Department of Public Safety, its commissioner, Terrance Raynor, and County Executive George Latimer, on Friday, March 8.
According to the lawsuit complaint, Saetta, who previously spent time as an officer in Mount Vernon and Pleasantville, joined the Westchester County Police Department in a probationary capacity in October 2023 and began in-service training.
On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 6, Saetta, along with his field training officer, Mohammad Chandoo, pulled over a driver later identified as Corinne Pascariu-Costo, who was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Pascariu-Costo had allegedly been driving with an expired temporary New Jersey license plate and could not produce a driver's license during the traffic stop, which she said was in the trunk, according to the complaint.
Pascariu-Costo then took out a black leather wallet with a small police shield and a "PBA" card, issued by police unions to identify friends, family, or others shown favor by authorities. She then identified herself as "family," the lawsuit alleges.
Despite this, Saetta noted that he did not recognize the agency associated with the PBA card and decided to issue Pascariu-Costo a ticket for a single minor traffic infraction with Chandoo's approval, the complaint said.
After this, Pascariu-Costo allegedly called in a complaint to the desk officer which made its way to Raynor.
On Friday, Jan. 12, Saetta was then told he was being terminated from his position and would be placed on administrative leave through Wednesday, Jan. 31.
The lawsuit alleges that Saetta was unlawfully terminated, as there are "no official rules in any law enforcement agency, including the [Department of Public Safety], stating that motorists in possession of PBA cards are not subject to enforcement of the laws of the State of New York," the complaint read.
Saetta is now seeking back pay in addition to other damages.
The Communications Director of Latimer's office, Catherine Cioffi, gave a statement on the lawsuit:
"We can confirm that a police officer who was on probation was lawfully terminated for cause," Cioffi said, adding, "The Westchester County Department of Public Safety remains dedicated to the recruitment and retention of officers who uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect in their service to the community."
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