Police Chief, Town Fire Back At Lawsuit Filed By Former Westfield Cop

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Town of Westfield is firing back at a former police officer who alleged in a lawsuit that he lost his job due to retaliation.

Former officer Matthew O'Holla accused the Town and Police Chief Christopher Battiloro of years of retaliation and forcing him to leave after he made a complaint of sexual harassment in 2023.

In an answer filed on Dec. 17, 2025 to the lawsuit, Battiloro and the Town denied the claims and told a different story surrounding the reasoning behind O'Holla's exit.

In October 2025, O'Holla sued after he said he was relegated to non-typical duties, received bad reviews, and was the victim of an orchestrated discharge from the force when he eventually resigned.

Among the complaints in the suit was that Battiloro did not accurately describe what happened during an April 2025 welfare check O'Holla conducted on a resident.

An internal affairs case was brought forth after the resident was assumed to be dead when they really weren't. In the answer to the lawsuit, they say O'Holla failed to render medical aid for 24 minutes after he arrived and failed to check her vitals or remove a mattress that was on top of her before he radioed to dispatch his assessment of the situation.

The answer to the suit also refutes O'Holla's claim that his move to a new uniformed patrol officer role with greater supervision was a result of his harassment allegations. Instead, Westfield and Battiloro said this was an administrative move based on his misuse of work time and resources to attend to his personal Vespa scooter.

It was only after an anonymous internal affairs complaint alleging theft of time came through, they say, that the matter was then referred to the Union County Prosecutor's Office as is customary with reports of criminal activity.

The claim that O'Holla made that he was forced to resign was also rejected. The answer to his suit stated that he offered to plead guilty and accept a plea bargain before eventually choosing to quit rather than face any charges or discipline.

Westfield and Battiloro are asking for a judgment dismissing the suit and fees, costs, and other relief for damages.

In a Notice of Claim filed with the Town in 2025, O'Holla also said he will sue Battiloro and now former Mayor Shelley Brindle for conspiracy, defamation, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after Brindle called his lawsuit "opportunistic."

Battiloro is the uncle of Vincent P. Battiloro, 17 of Garwood, who is charged with double murder for the Cranford hit-and-run deaths of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Sept. 29.

Christopher Battiloro has since spoken out against the acts after rumors began circulating online about his connection to a suspect, saying he and his family are "absolutely heartbroken over this senseless loss of life."

Patch has reached out to both O'Holla and his legal team for comment on the answer filed in response to the suit.

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