Central Jersey law enforcement officers were disciplined last year for offenses including fighting with other officers, sleeping on the job, pointing a Taser at another officer and allegedly serving alcohol to minors.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has released its report on the number of major disciplines reported by law enforcement departments statewide in 2023.
The report includes disciplinary actions from state, county and local agencies from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, and defines major discipline as terminations, reductions in rank, or suspension of more than five days.
The report indicates there were 24 major disciplines in Middlesex County, 25 in Union County, 7 in Somerset County, and 3 in Hunterdon County.
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In the four years since an Attorney General's directive has required each law enforcement agency in New Jersey to submit an annual report of all major discipline imposed by that agency on its officers, 280 have been fired, 1,218 suspended, 39 demoted and 80 have resigned, retired, transferred, or been separated.
During that same time there were 1,547 major disciplines reported to the Attorney General's Office, with 1,287 different officers receiving discipline. A total of 548 agencies submitted their reports with 274 different agencies reporting at least one major discipline.
Since the reporting began statewide, the average suspension has been 40.3 days.
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Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said the information reflects a commitment to increase accountability in policing.
"For the first time since information regarding major disciplinary actions has been made public, we have made significant changes to the requirements by expanding the information provided. Increased transparency helps increase confidence in law enforcement, leading to greater public safety,” Platkin said in a statement. “New Jersey’s law enforcement officers – the vast majority of whom serve with professionalism and honor – benefit from this increased public trust, enabling them to more safely and effectively serve New Jersey’s residents."
In Central Jersey there were 69 officers who faced major disciplinary actions last year, including seven from the Elizabeth Police Department, four from the Department of Corrections Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, three from East Jersey State Prison, both located in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, four from the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon and one from the Rutgers University Police Department.
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Agencies that reported disciplinary actions:
Hunterdon County
Clinton Township, Raritan Township police departments.
Middlesex County
Dunellen, Edison, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Sayreville, South Brunswick, South River and Woodbridge police departments, along with Middlesex County Corrections.
Somerset County
Bernards, Franklin and Manville police departments, along with Somerset County Corrections and Somerset County Sheriffs Office.
Union County
Elizabeth, Hillside, Linden, Plainfield, Scotch Plains Springfield and Union Township police departments, along with Union County Prosecutor's Office and Union County Sheriff's Office.
New Jersey
Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, East Jersey State Prison and Edna Mahan Correctional Facility.
Rutgers University Police Department also reported disciplinary action.
Agencies without disciplinary action:
Hunterdon
Clinton Town, Delaware Township, Flemington, Franklin Township, Frenchtown, High Bridge, Holland, Lambertville, Lebanon, Readington, Tewksbury and West Amwell police departments, along with Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office and Hunterdon County Sheriff's Department.
Middlesex
Carteret, Cranbury, East Brunswick, Highland Park, Jamesburg, Metuchen, and Middlesex Borough police departments, Middlesex College, Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Middlesex County Sheriff's Office, Milltown, Monroe, Plainsboro, South Amboy, South Plainfield and Spotswood police departments.
Somerset
Bedminster, Bernardsville, Bound Brook, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Far Hills, Green Brook, Hillsborough, Montgomery, North Plainfield, Peapack-Gladstone and Raritan police departments, Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, Somerville, South Bound Brook, Warren and Watchung police departments.
Union
Berkeley Heights, Clark, Cranford, Fanwood and Garwood police departments, Kean University, Kenilworth, Mountainside, New Providence, Rahway, Roselle Park, Roselle, Summit, Union County and Winfield police departments.
Notable cases:
- Clinton Township Sgt. Lawrence Anthes was demoted and suspended for 30 days after being investigated for violating the records accountability policy and being accused of removing confidential documents, obtained through the nature of his position, and producing them to an individual outside the agency without express written authorization from the police chief.
- Dunellen Sgt. Delbuono Jeffrey forfeited 15 vacation days after being found to be asleep in police headquarters while on duty in a restricted area.
- Edison Officer Amitoj Oberoi was charged as the driver in a DWI crash in which two people were killed.
- Middlesex County Correctional Police Officer Raymond Rodriguez suspended for 10 days after being observed by a supervisor after the facility was secured for the night to be sleeping while on duty.
- Old Bridge Capt. Edward Jarusiewicz while on duty entered the office of a subordinate officer and threw an object at that officer and a physical altercation ensued. During an Internal Affairs investigation into this incident, Jarusiewicz was interviewed and found to be dishonest in his responses about his actions that day. Jarusiewicz was suspended for 140 days and demoted to the rank of sergeant.
- South Brunswick Sgt. Matthew Skolsky engaged in horseplay by un-holstering and pointing his Taser 7 at a commanding officer during a union meeting. He received a 240-hour suspension without pay and agreed to be ineligible for the next lieutenant’s promotion as a result of this matter.
- Woodbridge Officer Michael Cifelli was indicted three times for criminal offenses, once in 2017 and twice in 2021. He was suspended without pay after the first indictment was filed. He entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office and pleaded guilty to one of the charges in 2023. He was required to resign from his law enforcement employment as part of the plea. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
- Woodbridge Officers Jacob and Zachary Manente, who are brothers, were each suspended for 20 days unpaid after they were engaged in a physical altercation with each other in Ocean City, Maryland. Both suffered injuries and were arrested. The criminal charges were later dismissed. A departmental investigation found that they had violated rules and regulations.
- Bernards Officer Nicholas Brett pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from an incident in which he claimed to be following a stolen vehicle at a high speed when he wasn't actively pursuing the vehicle and subsequently resigned his position.
- Franklin Sgt. Teddy Cerra resigned from his employment with the police department and agreed not to seek employment with any other law enforcement agency after signing a plea agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. Cerra had previously been charged with firearms and aggravated assault charges.
- Manville Chief Thomas Herbst was suspended after being indicted on official misconduct and sexual assault charges in connection with unwanted sexual behavior toward at least three women.
- East Jersey State Prison Senior Correctional Police Officer Adrian Howell's employment was terminated following an incident in which he attacked another officer and and placed him in a choke hold and refused to comply with orders to release him.
- Elizabeth Officer AB Fontanez was charged with indictable crimes related to allegedly serving alcoholic to minors, failing to summon medical attention for a minor who was unconscious, and hindering his own apprehension by making false statements to law enforcement.
- Linden Officer Carlos Ralda resigned while an Internal Affairs investigation was pending into an off-duty hit-and-run crash that was not reported to police.
- Union County Sheriff's Officer Stephen Karlik failed to report for duty for five or more consecutive days. Karlik never returned to duty and failed to complete the requirements necessary to return to work. The conduct occurred in 2021 and final discipline was issued in 2023 when he was terminated.
