Englishtown Police Chief On Administrative Leave: Mayor

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — The Englishtown chief of police has been placed on administrative leave from his job, according to Englishtown's mayor.

Mayor Daniel Francisco announced the leave of Peter S. Cooke Jr. in an email to Patch Wednesday evening.

"The Borough of Englishtown would like to inform the public that Corporal Trevor Martinson shall be in charge of the police department as Chief Cooke will be out on administrative leave," the emailed statement from Francisco said.

"Corporal Martinson has been with the department for almost 22 years, carrying an exceptional record with multiple commendations. He is well-respected in the community, and is beyond capable of leading our department during this period. All managerial matters regarding the Englishtown Police Department should be directed to Corporal Martinson for the time being," the statement said.

Francisco did not give the length of Cooke's suspension. In a follow-up phone call, he said he could not elaborate because it is a personnel matter.

Cooke, who has served in the department since joining as a Class II special officer in 2000, was promoted to chief in January 2019, becoming the borough's first chief in 10 years. Englishtown had a police chief prior to 2010, but the governing body eliminated the position after then-Chief John Niziolek retired, according to a Central Jersey News report.

Cooke served as the officer in charge from 2011 until 2018, when the chief's position was reinstated, and was acting chief until he was promoted in 2019.

Martinson has been his second-in-command the entire time Cooke has been the lead officer.

Francisco is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in 2021 seeking to force the state to drop its "justifiable need" requirement for residents to legally carry handguns in public.

Cooke is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which is currently in negotiations over the language of a settlement agreement. Also named as defendants are Oradell Police Chief William Wicker; Andrew Bruck, who at the time was New Jersey's acting attorney general; Col. Patrick J. Callahan, head of the New Jersey State Police; and two Superior Court judges, Lourdes Lucas, who serves in Monmouth County, and Christopher R. Kazlau, who serves in Bergen County.

Jonathan Cohen, who is representing Cooke and the Borough of Englishtown in the lawsuit, said the two matters are not related, and that Francisco, who had served on the Borough Council before being elected mayor in an uncontested election in November, has been excluded from all discussions and votes by the council on the lawsuit.

Cohen said Francisco is a plaintiff and Cooke a defendant in the lawsuit because Firearms Policy Coalition needed a plaintiff directly affected by the issue to bring the lawsuit.

Francisco had filed an application in November 2020 for a permit to carry a handgun for self-protection. After some delays, Cooke denied the request in January 2021 based on New Jersey's "justifiable need," statute, which tightly regulates who and under what conditions a person can carry a handgun in the state.

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such restrictions were unconstitutional in a rule in a New York State case known as NYSPRA v Bruen. A settlement of Francisco's case is being finalized.

Francisco is the president of Blue Star Union, an organization that aims "to educate the public about how to exercise their civil rights, engage with public officials, and build strong communities through media campaigns, publicly-accessible programming, and community events."

In a February interview with Patch he described himself as a "natural rights absolutist."

"I want our town to lead on respecting the rights of our residents in whatever manner possible," Francisco said.

Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said that Cooke had been suspended. He has been placed on administrative leave. Patch regrets the error.