Parsippany Cop Named In NJ's 'Major Discipline' Report

PARSIPPANY, NJ — A Parsippany police officer was temporarily suspended from duty for falsifying details in a report, according to state documents.

The public revelation comes from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General's fourth-ever Major Discipline Report, which lists details for hundreds of police officers in the state.

These figures are part of the state’s efforts to enhance transparency and public access to information regarding officer misconduct and use of force, as championed by the state’s top law enforcement official.

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

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

In Parsippany, Patrolman Jimmy Michel was suspended for two days after he authored a police report that omitted important facts and failed to classify the incident as domestic violence. No further details were made available on the incident.

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.

Officers from eight other Morris County police departments were listed in the 'major discipline' report. These departments include Florham Park, Hanover Township, Morris Plains, the Morris County Sheriff's Department, Mount Arlington Borough, Mountain Lakes, Morris Township and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Until a few years ago, the state kept the identities of officers who were disciplined or fired confidential.

However, following the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020, then-Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued several directives on police reform. These included the requirement to disclose certain major-discipline violations involving officers.

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