Drunk Driving, Unsolicited Sex Pics: See NJ Police Misconduct Cases In 2023

NEW JERSEY — More than 450 law enforcement officers were disciplined last year for misconduct, which ranged from attendance issues and insubordination to stalking and sexual assault, a new state report shows.

These figures come as part of the Major Discipline Report released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, as the state’s “top cop” seeks to increase transparency and public access to information about officer misconduct and use of force.

This is the fourth year that AG Matthew Platkin’s office has released this data, which lists details for hundreds of police officers in the state who faced “major discipline,” meaning they were demoted, terminated, or suspended for more than five days. The report also includes officers who resigned, retired, or otherwise left a department during an ongoing internal affairs investigation or complaint.

This year’s report covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, which saw 538 major discipline cases reported – up from 404 the previous year, and 384 cases in 2021.

The most frequent offenses in 2023 were related to attendance, including lateness and call-outs too close to the start of a shift, state officials said. Some of the reported offenses are much more serious — including the indictment of Manville Police Chief Thomas Herbst after a longtime employee accused him of rape and sexual abuse over the course of 13 years.

Herbst was suspended, as the report shows.

A total of 460 unique officers faced disciplinary action across 167 different law enforcement agencies, data shows – meaning there were more than 300 local police departments and state agencies that did not have any major incidents to report in 2023.

Close to 60 of the officers on the list were fired, including a Monmouth County Sheriff's Office employee who was accused of engaging in sexual activities while on duty. According to the report, Officer Haaris Ahmad began sending unsolicited sexual pictures and a video to someone he had struck up a friendship with in the summer of 2023, even after the person told him to stop.

And a detective with the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office was fired, after she reportedly showed up late to work while under the influence — and had been charged with drunk driving in another state. Former Detective Investigator Kimberly Ghedine "failed to notify the agency of her arrest and berated another employee for reporting her arrest," according to state data.

The 2023 report also includes information about certain forms of misconduct – including discrimination and bias, excessive force, filing a false report, mishandling or destroying evidence, and committing an act of domestic violence.

Members of the public can view this latest report as a PDF, and explore all major discipline data at this link.