Atlantic County had 32 officers receive major disciplinary action last year, with issues spanning from chronic lateness to criminal charges.
Three were terminated, including a Pleasantville police officer who broke the wrist of a handcuffed suspect, and an officer at the Atlantic County Justice Facility charged with giving contraband to inmates.
The state Attorney General's Office released the report Monday, with 543 officers statewide receiving a total of 644 major discipline actions statewide, including 86 who were terminated.
The officers represent 172 agencies, including law enforcement and corrections officers. Pending cases are not included in the total.
Atlantic County topped the list with 43 major disciplinary actions, including six officers who had multiple infractions.
Two officers are suspended while they fight pending criminal charges.
Fred Gilbert, a sergeant in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, is charged with official misconduct along with witness tampering, obstruction, false reporting and tampering with evidence, after he allegedly discarded possible drugs found in the jail, and then had a report authored denying it was found.
Atlantic City Police Officer Warren Young is accused of brandishing his gun at his wife during a domestic dispute. She also now faces criminal charges.
Pleasantville Officer Andrew Eckert was fired after an investigation into his attack on a handcuffed suspect.
Eckert was called in as backup for an an investigation into a parked car with the doors ajar and the interior lights on, according to the report. The unnamed subject already was in custody and handcuffed when Eckert broke his wrist. He also tossed the subject into the air and into a fence while still handcuffed.
Egg Harbor Township Detective Jeffrey Lancaster was criminally charged on a civilian summons for threatening a man May 3, 2023, while off-duty after he saw the man in contact with a minor.
The narrative provided in the report did not detail the contact or indicate if the man had faced any charges.
The complaint against Lancaster was sent to municipal court and eventually dismissed.
As part of a settlement agreement last year in the Internal Affairs investigation, he was suspended for 20 days.
"The vast majority of New Jersey’s law enforcement officers show up to work each day and risk their own safety to help and protect others and to serve their communities," Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. "They conduct themselves with honor and courage in the face of trying circumstances and dangerous situations.
"Publicly releasing this data about the handling of disciplinary matters helps maintain the public’s trust in those dedicated, hardworking men and women of law enforcement,” he continued. “My office is committed to improving transparency and building confidence in government, and providing this data is part of that mission.”
A dozen Atlantic County agencies had no major discipline for the year: Absecon, Brigantine, Egg Harbor City, Galloway Township, Hammonton, Linwood, Longport, Margate, Mullica Township, Northfield, Somers Point and Stockton University.
Cape May County had no major discipline in Cape May, Stone Harbor, West Wildwood Boro, Wildcrest Boro and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office was the only agency in that county not to have a major discipline.
Three officers were disciplined for having sex on duty.
Atlantic City Officer Michael Vega was suspended for 90 days after it was found he drove a civilian to the police compound in his assigned marked patrol vehicle, then took them into the SWAT room and engaged in sexual activity.
Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Detectives Bryan Casey and Denise Montgomery each was found to have engaged in sexual activity while on duty, the report states.
Casey was suspended for 45 days and Montgomery for 120 days.
Atlantic County Sheriff’s Officer Thomas Denton sexually harassed his co-workers, according to the report. He was suspended for 30 days as a result.
Officers with the Atlantic County Public Safety Division of Adult Detention accounted for more than two-thirds of those disciplined in the county, including Officer David Martinez who was criminally charged with giving contraband that included food and unknown items to inmates in and outside of the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
He was fired.
Corrections Officer Christopher Piccioni also was under investigation for bringing contraband into the jail and fraternizing with inmates.
He was suspended without pay pending termination when he resigned.
Corrections Officer Nicholas Procaccini left his duty belt that contained his on-duty firearm, loaded magazines and other equipment in the restroom at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Mainland Campus while assigned to an inmate on medical watch.
He was suspended for 30 days.
Corrections Officer Daniel Haywood pleaded guilty last year to driving under the influence in Egg Harbor Township, leading to an accident Dec. 16, 2022.
He was suspended for 10 days in that incident. He also had a 30-day suspension for bringing in a flash drive to connect to a government-owned computer to watch movies and listen to music, violating policy.
Ventnor Police Officer Matthew Gorham also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. He was suspended for 180 days in the incident that happened in Absecon in 2023.
The 2024 summary of all reported Internal Affairs cases is available online. It includes the number of internal affairs cases, the number of officers cited in an internal affairs investigation and outcomes for cases closed.
For 2024, law enforcement agencies reported opening more than 15,000 internal affairs investigations involving approximately 8,800 unique law enforcement officers across New Jersey. One-third of all closed investigations resulted in a sustained finding, most frequently resulting in oral or written reprimands.
The sharing of this information is part of efforts by the Attorney General’s Office to increase access to information on police discipline and use of force. It is being provided in accordance with AG Directive 2021-6, issued in June 2021 in response to a state Supreme Court decision that year authorizing its public release.
Under that directive and the NJ Internal Affairs Policies & Procedures, all New Jersey law enforcement agencies annually submit major discipline reporting forms to the Attorney General’s Office indicating which officers faced “major discipline” and giving a brief synopsis of the conduct leading to the disciplinary action.
