So Where Has The Barnegat Police Chief Been All These Months? Read This And Find Out

More than half a year after Barnegat Police Chief Arthur P. Drexler was suspended from his job, residents here now have some answers about why the Barnegat Township Committee suspended him.

Drexler disappeared from his office in late July of 2016. Township officials gave out no information about why he was gone. When residents questioned where the veteran police officer was at Township Committee meetings, they got no answers.

Yesterday, today township officials released a press release and details of the settlement over whether Drexler had accumulated too much compensatory time. It turns out he didn't.

Last summer, township officials referred the matter to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. By Oct. 31, the Prosecutor's Office said they couldn't find any evidence of a criminal nature or that Drexler tried to deceive the township about his hours.

The Prosecutor's Office referred the matter back to the township. On Dec. 5, Drexler announced he intended to sue the township. But the township still continued to insist that Drexler had "improperly credited" himself with compensatory time.

By late December, Drexler restated his innocence, entered a not guilty plea and asked for another departmental hearing.

In early January, both sides agreed to sit down and discuss pre-trial discovery and the possibility of a settlement.

Here's the "good faith" settlement they came up what they came up with:

The township agreed to pay Drexler retroactive pay of $240,000 in two payments. The first payment of $97,036, would cover his gross retroactive pay. The second payment of $142,960 included his retirement pay and erased any misconduct allegations.

Both township officials and Drexler agreed not to pursue any further legal action in the matter. He submitted his resignation.

"The Township of Barnegat and Chief Drexler have since resolved all issues in dispute between
them for the good of both the Township and Chief Drexler," according to a press release. "The Township and Chief Drexler have resolved these issues in order to bring an end to their existing dispute and to eliminate the prospect of further litigation between the parties in state and federal court."

Image: Barnegat Township