Eight New Jersey cops have been suspended from duty for failing to properly patrol the city of Long Branch. The eight cops have been punished for sitting idling in their patrol cars rather than performing their duty to serve and protect the public.
A total of five officers and three supervisors have since been suspended for between 10 and 45 days without pay. An investigation was launched last year after the police department received an anonymous letter from a member of the public which listed several allegations against the officers, including that a police officers were working other jobs while on duty, with one accused of working as a limo driver. The majority of these allegations were found to be untrue.
The mayor of the city said this:
“I’m aggravated for a couple different reasons,” Mayor Adam Schneider said. “It’s an embarrassment for the town. I know virtually all of them, and all of them know better. They were taking advantage of being on the midnight shift, and they were derelict in their operations.”
It is understood that the officers were serving on the midnight shift. While they were not sleeping while on duty, they were found to be parked in their patrol vehicles for much longer than was deemed necessary.
“We found (officers) were sitting in their patrol cars longer than they were supposed to. They should have been driving around their zones, and we found them in violation of our rules and regulations,” Director of Public Safety, Jason Roebuck, said.
The names of the officers, who were informed they would be facing charges on Jan. 21, have not been released.
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