Montgomery Settles Jewish Police Officer’s Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit for $80,000

By John Paff of TransparencyNJ for The Montgomery News | July 13, 2026

• Montgomery Township quietly agreed to pay $80,000 to resolve a lawsuit by a longtime police officer who alleged retaliation after complaining about anti-Jewish comments made by a police sergeant, according to a July report posted by TransparencyNJ.

• Township Committee had gone into a closed session at its March 19 meeting, then returned to public session and adopted Resolution #26-3-122 approving the settlement.

Former Montgomery Township Police Officer Jason Clifford.

Montgomery News file photo.

• Plaintiff Jason Clifford had served as a Montgomery police officer from November 1, 2004 until his official retirement on April 1, 2026. He claimed he was the only Jewish officer ever hired by the Montgomery Police Department. He alleged he had been bypassed for promotion to sergeant in 2014, 2017, and 2024.

  
  

• The final agreement, quietly reached in March 2026, allocated $62,500 to Clifford and $17,500 to his lawyers, and stated the settlement was paid by the township, not by the police sergeant who was also named as a defendant.

The Montgomery News reached out to Montgomery Police Chief Silvio Bet for comment. Bet advised he was unable to comment on personnel matters.

History of the Case

In his September 10, 2024 lawsuit, Clifford alleged that former Montgomery Police Sgt. Ryan Gray, who was named as a defendant in Clifford’s suit, made religion-based comments to him at a May 8, 2024 firearms qualification event, including asking whether meat being served at a barbecue was kosher and whether Clifford would be drinking Manischewitz when he went home. Clifford alleged that Gray made the comments in front of other police personnel and intended to humiliate and belittle him.

>> Read related article:  Montgomery Township's Only Jewish Cop Files Whistleblower Lawsuit

The case had an unusual settlement history: an earlier proposal would have allowed the officer to retire at a promoted sergeant rank and receive $50,000, but the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits would not approve the promotion for pension/retirement purposes.

Clifford alleged he complained about Gray’s comments to a superior officer on or about May 23, 2024 and formally reported the comments on May 28, 2024, causing an internal affairs investigation to be opened. He alleged that when he was interviewed, police superiors appeared agitated and unwelcoming about his report.

The lawsuit alleged Clifford was then ranked tenth out of 14 candidates in a 2024 sergeant promotional process, despite being the most senior eligible candidate and having served as an acting sergeant on multiple occasions. Clifford alleged that his ranking was negatively affected because he had objected to Gray’s comments about his religion. He also alleged that a July 17, 2024 letter from the Montgomery Police Department’s Administrative Division advised him the internal affairs investigation found Gray had violated departmental rules and regulations and would be subject to discipline.

The lawsuit asserted claims under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act and the New Jersey Law Against  Discrimination. It sought damages, attorney fees, punitive damages, and Clifford’s immediate promotion to sergeant with back pay and tenure credits.

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The settlement path was more complicated than a simple cash resolution. According to a motion-to-enforce-settlement package filed by the township, the parties first mediated the case in 2025 and reached a conditional settlement on October 28, 2025. Under that earlier agreement, Clifford would have been retroactively promoted to sergeant, retired effective January 1, 2026, and received $50,000. The township’s motion papers stated that the agreement was voided because the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits would not approve Clifford’s promotion for pension/retirement purposes.

The township’s motion papers stated that the parties then resumed negotiations, with the cash component increasing first to $75,000 and then to $80,000. The Township sought to enforce the alleged settlement after Clifford’s counsel returned a redlined agreement that the Township claimed attempted to alter material terms. The motion papers stated that Clifford’s counsel had written “we are settled” in a February 5, 2026 email, but later wrote that he did not believe the parties had consummated a settlement after the pension issue. The motion was filed on February 27, 2026 and was later withdrawn

The final agreement stated that Clifford intended to retire effective April 1, 2026, with March 31, 2026 as his last day. It also stated that Clifford had repaid $2,930 the township had paid him in 2025 in anticipation of promotion under the now-voided settlement agreement. The agreement provided that Clifford would remain on the township payroll in paid status from January 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026, using accrued leave at his regular base salary rate, and would not be required to report for duty except for mutually agreed administrative transition matters.

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The settlement agreement included a confidentiality clause under which Clifford agreed to keep the existence and terms of the settlement confidential. However, under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA),  government settlements remain accessible to the public despite such clauses.

Minutes of the Montgomery Township Committee’s March 19, 2026 meeting state the committee went into executive session to discuss litigation, including Docket No. SOM-L-1215-24, then returned to public session and adopted Resolution #26-3-122. (Voting yes were Mayor Neena Singh, Mike Martin, and Patricia Taylor Todd. Dennis Ahn and Vince Barragan were absent).

The resolution ratified execution of a settlement agreement to resolve that docket. The case is captioned Jason Clifford v. Township of Montgomery and Ryan Gray, Docket No. SOM-L-001215-24. The plaintiff was represented by Patrick P. Toscano, Jr. and Matthew J. Toscano of Fairfield, NJ.

None of the lawsuit allegations have been proven or disproven in court. The settlement agreement expressly states that the $80,000 payment does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by Montgomery Township or any of its officials. All that is known for sure is that Montgomery Township or its insurer, for whatever reason, decided that it would rather pay Jason Clifford $80,000 than take the matter to trial.