Federal lawsuit against former police chief ends

COUNCIL GROVE — A federal lawsuit alleging that a small-town police chief abused his authority and retaliated against a parent has been settled, ending a three-year legal dispute that began with accusations involving the chief's teenage daughter.

Tisha Conard Richardson and Police Chief Shawn Wangerin reached the settlement last month in U.S. District Court, according to court records filed Oct. 10. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Richardson had sued Wangerin claiming he violated her constitutional rights under the First, Fourth and 14th amendments following a 2022 incident in which her then-13-year-old son and Wangerin's then-14-year-old daughter had a sexual encounter. Wangerin's daughter later said the encounter was non-consensual.

The boy was arrested and charged with rape by Morris County sheriff's deputies. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Richardson alleged in her lawsuit that Wangerin used his official position to target her family in retaliation for her protected speech and to silence her criticism of how the case was handled. She claimed he filed a protection-from-stalking order against her while misusing city resources and that the order was subsequently dismissed.

"He filed a motion to dismiss the day before he had to provide proof," Richardson said, according to documents filed in the federal case.

Wangerin responded that Richardson had followed him from a restaurant to a public park in February 2023, prompting him to seek the protection order. He denied using city resources to pursue his legal matters.

After the protective order was filed, authorities charged Richardson with stalking, violating the protective order and making criminal false communications — charges stemming from a Facebook post in which she criticized someone she described as an "inept parent who holds a lot of power in the community."

Those criminal charges were later dropped, and the protective order was dismissed. The court subsequently ordered the records expunged.

In her federal lawsuit, Richardson sought more than $75,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees and expenses. She claimed Wangerin's actions caused her severe emotional distress and forced her to seek counseling.

Neither Wangerin nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.