Chester Police Saw No 'Major Discipline' Cases In 2022: Report

CHESTER, NJ — Not a single officer from the Chester Police Department received "major discipline" in 2022, according to a new report.

Last week, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office released its third-ever Major Discipline Report, which lists details for hundreds of police officers in the state. This year’s report covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

You can read the entire list here; it was released Wednesday, May 10.

According to the attorney general’s office, “major discipline” is defined as terminations, reductions in rank, or suspension of more than five days.

Statewide most frequently occurring offenses in 2022 were related to attendance, including lateness and call-outs too close to the start of a shift, according to the AG’s report.

Descriptions mentioning a “use of force-related violation” accounted for about four percent of all major disciplinary actions across the state in 2022, prosecutors said.

Officers from seven Morris County police departments were named in the 'major discipline' report, they include East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover Township, Lincoln Park, Morris County Corrections, Parsippany-Troy Hills and Randolph Township.

Until recently, the state kept the identities of officers who were disciplined or fired private.

However, after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in May 2020, then-Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued several directives involving police reform, including the disclosure of certain major-discipline violations from officers.

Prosecutors noted that AG Directive 2022-14, issued in November 2022, expanded the list of infractions that would be considered major discipline to include among other things: discriminatory conduct, filing a false report and intentionally performing an improper search.

However, because the directive was not in effect during the reporting period, those violations are not included in this year's release. According to prosecutors, the first year of data under the new directive will be released in 2024, covering the calendar year 2023.

"By embracing greater transparency, the vast majority of New Jersey’s law enforcement officers who serve with honor, professionalism, and courage, are better able to carry out their duties more effectively and safely in service to the people of our state," Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.