Supreme Court Rules Heights Had Right to Terminate Police Lieutenant

A New Jersey Supreme Court judge ruled last week that Hasbrouck Heights was in the right to terminate a police lieutenant following accusations that he got into a fight with a chief of another police department, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

The ruling states that the borough had enough evidence to terminate  Lt. Kelly Ruroede back in 2009 and it overturns a 2010 court ruling which had reinstated Ruroede to the force putting him on inactive status, according to the website.   

Hackensack Superior Court Judge Estala M. De La Cruz had ruled that the borough relied on “hearsay testimony” and that Ruroede did not have a fair hearing as an attorney was not present. The Supreme Court disagreed and ruled that Ruroede willingly participated in the disciplinary hearing and that the borough followed the rules, NorthJersey.com reports.  

The borough’s attorney Dominick J. Bratti told NorthJersey.com Ruroede was not qualified to serve as a police officer as a domestic violence case against him prevented him from carrying a gun.

Ruroede is accused of showing a gun during a bar fight with an acting police chief of Rutherford, the report states. A hearing officer who investigated the incident had recommended he be dismissed citing a psychological analysis found “over-aggressive” behaviors and expressions, according to NorthJersey.com