TRENTON, NJ - On Monday, July 7th, the state Attorney General's Office released new data showing nearly 550 police officers throughout the state received major discipline for misconduct ranging from losing guns to using excessive force during 2024.
The data shows that 543 officers were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days in 2024 across 172 law enforcement agencies in the state, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
Some were punished for more than one infraction, with 644 total major discipline actions logged in 2024.
The latest annual report on major discipline comes five years after the Attorney General's Office first ordered agencies to disclose such discipline in an effort to increase transparency and build trust between police and the communities they serve.
Since then, the number of officers disciplined has steadily risen, jumping 40% between 2021 — the first full year of reporting, when 389 officers were disciplined — and 2024.
The jump in discipline numbers is partially due to Attorney General Matt Platkin expanding the list of major discipline infractions to include domestic violence, excessive force, intentional destruction or mishandling of evidence, lying, discriminatory conduct, and intentionally performing an improper search, among others.
The expanded reporting also now captures officers charged with indictable crimes and those who left an agency amid ongoing investigations.
The changes Platkin implemented took effect on January 1, 2023, and discipline still rose 18% from 2023 to 2024, the data shows.
Platkin said most of New Jersey's 42,000 law enforcement officers serve their communities honorable and valiantly despite the dangers and frustrations of the job.
About 370 of nearly 550 agencies reported no major discipline. "Publicly releasing this data about the handling of disciplinary matters help maintain the public's trust in those dedicated, hardworking men and women of law enforcement," Platkin said in a statement.
The most common offense stemmed from attendance infractions, with dozens of officers disciplined for chronic lateness or sick callouts.
However, dozens of other officers were disciplined for actual crimes, including those accused of drunk driving, domestic violence, insurance fraud, theft, possessing child pornography, assault, harassment, child endangerment, and engaging in prostitution.
Some were terminated or left their jobs voluntarily, but others continue working as officers after getting suspensions of varying lengths.
Multiple officers were also disciplined for negligent handling of their firearms, with some leaving loaded guns in sensitive places and others reporting them stolen after leaving them in their cars.
In Voorhees, Officer Steven Kushner was suspended for 20 days after he propped his fully loaded rifle against his car, then drove away, leaving the firearm in the street.
Nicholas Procaccini, an Atlantic County correction officer, left his duty belt with a firearm and loaded magazines in the restroom at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona, where he was supervising an inmate getting treatment.
Correction Officer Daniqua Lewter reported her firearm stolen from her cousin's house, but later admitted she gave it to her cousin, who did not have a pistol permit.
Many officers were disciplined for workplace offenses, such as having sex on duty, harassing colleagues, failing drug tests, and searching police databases for personal reasons.
Kaitlyn Hermansen resigned from the Tenafly Police Department after investigators discovered she crashed her police car, picked up the debris, and staged a collision elsewhere.
She then lied to supervisors that she'd collided with deer.
Correction officers racked up the most disciplinary infractions, with discipline melted out to about 250 officers who work for the state or county prisons and jails.
Some failed to do required headcounts, slept or watched movies while on duty, or otherwise simply ignored their responsibilities, while others smuggled contraband to inmates or had inappropriate relationships with them.
The data shows that several officers resigned or retired before supervisors could impose punishment.
The data also shows wide disparities in how officers were disciplined.
In Hudson County, Guttenberg Police Officer John Lopez was terminated for faking a doctor's note and prescription form to bolster his request to be excused from shaving due to skin irritation, while William Underwood, an officer in Bryam Township, got fired for "inappropriate" Facebook posts about race relations.
In Jersey City, Officers Shahzad Hashmi and Fernando Procel got 120-day suspensions for failing to help a rape victim get a restraining order and medical care and alert a sexual assault response team, thereby preventing the collection of evidence.
In Newark, Officer David Paige got a 10-day suspension after he allegedly slammed a student against a wall and ground "in an unprovoked incident" and then arrested and charged the student for aggravated assault.
Platkin's office also released data on all reported internal affairs cases statewide.
Those figures show that internal affairs detectives opened more than 15,000 investigations involving about 8,800 officers statewide in 2024.
A third of all closed investigations resulted in a sustained finding, with officers most often punished by oral or written reprimands.
The data shows that 543 officers were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days in 2024 across 172 law enforcement agencies in the state, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
Some were punished for more than one infraction, with 644 total major discipline actions logged in 2024.
The latest annual report on major discipline comes five years after the Attorney General's Office first ordered agencies to disclose such discipline in an effort to increase transparency and build trust between police and the communities they serve.
Since then, the number of officers disciplined has steadily risen, jumping 40% between 2021 — the first full year of reporting, when 389 officers were disciplined — and 2024.
The jump in discipline numbers is partially due to Attorney General Matt Platkin expanding the list of major discipline infractions to include domestic violence, excessive force, intentional destruction or mishandling of evidence, lying, discriminatory conduct, and intentionally performing an improper search, among others.
The expanded reporting also now captures officers charged with indictable crimes and those who left an agency amid ongoing investigations.
The changes Platkin implemented took effect on January 1, 2023, and discipline still rose 18% from 2023 to 2024, the data shows.
Platkin said most of New Jersey's 42,000 law enforcement officers serve their communities honorable and valiantly despite the dangers and frustrations of the job.
About 370 of nearly 550 agencies reported no major discipline. "Publicly releasing this data about the handling of disciplinary matters help maintain the public's trust in those dedicated, hardworking men and women of law enforcement," Platkin said in a statement.
The most common offense stemmed from attendance infractions, with dozens of officers disciplined for chronic lateness or sick callouts.
However, dozens of other officers were disciplined for actual crimes, including those accused of drunk driving, domestic violence, insurance fraud, theft, possessing child pornography, assault, harassment, child endangerment, and engaging in prostitution.
Some were terminated or left their jobs voluntarily, but others continue working as officers after getting suspensions of varying lengths.
Multiple officers were also disciplined for negligent handling of their firearms, with some leaving loaded guns in sensitive places and others reporting them stolen after leaving them in their cars.
In Voorhees, Officer Steven Kushner was suspended for 20 days after he propped his fully loaded rifle against his car, then drove away, leaving the firearm in the street.
Nicholas Procaccini, an Atlantic County correction officer, left his duty belt with a firearm and loaded magazines in the restroom at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona, where he was supervising an inmate getting treatment.
Correction Officer Daniqua Lewter reported her firearm stolen from her cousin's house, but later admitted she gave it to her cousin, who did not have a pistol permit.
Many officers were disciplined for workplace offenses, such as having sex on duty, harassing colleagues, failing drug tests, and searching police databases for personal reasons.
Kaitlyn Hermansen resigned from the Tenafly Police Department after investigators discovered she crashed her police car, picked up the debris, and staged a collision elsewhere.
She then lied to supervisors that she'd collided with deer.
Correction officers racked up the most disciplinary infractions, with discipline melted out to about 250 officers who work for the state or county prisons and jails.
Some failed to do required headcounts, slept or watched movies while on duty, or otherwise simply ignored their responsibilities, while others smuggled contraband to inmates or had inappropriate relationships with them.
The data shows that several officers resigned or retired before supervisors could impose punishment.
The data also shows wide disparities in how officers were disciplined.
In Hudson County, Guttenberg Police Officer John Lopez was terminated for faking a doctor's note and prescription form to bolster his request to be excused from shaving due to skin irritation, while William Underwood, an officer in Bryam Township, got fired for "inappropriate" Facebook posts about race relations.
In Jersey City, Officers Shahzad Hashmi and Fernando Procel got 120-day suspensions for failing to help a rape victim get a restraining order and medical care and alert a sexual assault response team, thereby preventing the collection of evidence.
In Newark, Officer David Paige got a 10-day suspension after he allegedly slammed a student against a wall and ground "in an unprovoked incident" and then arrested and charged the student for aggravated assault.
Platkin's office also released data on all reported internal affairs cases statewide.
Those figures show that internal affairs detectives opened more than 15,000 investigations involving about 8,800 officers statewide in 2024.
A third of all closed investigations resulted in a sustained finding, with officers most often punished by oral or written reprimands.
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