Former Point Boro Council President Arrested in Alleged Assault on Man, Police Say

Susan Rogers, the former Point Borough Council President who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2010, is facing a charge of simple assault for allegedly injuring a man in her home on River Road, police said.

Rogers, 44, was released on $1,000 bail, no 10 percent option, at the Borough Police Department on Bridge Avenue on Dec. 29, the day she was charged with one count of simple assault, said Captain Richard Larsen.

Rogers, who lost to William Schroeder in her mayor bid, is vice chairperson of the Republican County Committee of Point Pleasant.

A man who Rogers' had allegedly harmed during a dispute called police at 11:26 a.m. Dec. 29, Larsen said.

When asked if the injury was minor, Larsen said, "Yes, it was minor as best we can determine. The charge was simple assault. If the injury had been serious, the charge would have been aggravated assault."

The victim declined medical treatment on Dec. 29, but the following morning called for medical attention, Larsen said. At 5:24 a.m. Dec. 30, the victim was transported by the Point Boro First Aid Squad from Rogers' home to Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Larsen said.

When Patch called Rogers on her cell phone, Rogers said "Hello," a Patch editor identified herself and the connection died.

Larsen would not disclose the victim's name, age, nature of the relationship to Rogers, the type of injuries, how long he was in the hospital, or any other details, saying the law precludes law enforcement officers from releasing most information regarding this and other domestic violence cases.

The charge is a municipal court charge, not one that is subject to indictment by a grand jury that would ultimately be handled by Superior Court in Toms River, Larsen said. Rogers was never transported to Ocean County jail in Toms River, but was processed and released from the Borough Police Department, he said.

So far, the municipal court has not received any plea or notice of legal representation, and there is no court date scheduled yet, regarding the Rogers case, Municipal Court Administrator Michelle Sargent said early Thursday afternoon.

Rogers was charged by Special Police Officer Matthew Nickerson, who had responded to Rogers' home with Officer Loren MacIver, in MacIver's marked police vehicle, since MacIver is the field training officer supervising Nickerson, Larsen said.

Officer Robert Wells, the senior officer on duty that day, who supervised the investigation, and Officers Jeff Johnson and David Scalabrini also responded to the scene and assisted in what was "a thorough investigation," Larsen said. Scalabrini also responded to the house again later that day, at 5:46 p.m., as part of the ongoing investigation, Larsen said.

Rogers is employed as a Confidential Secretary in the Department of Children and Families' Division on Women, she was hired on Oct. 12, 2010 and her current salary is $60,807.11, according to Kristine Brown, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, NJ Department of Children and Families. 

While Rogers is still active in the local Republican County Committee of Point Pleasant, her once-strong influence among local Republicans may have been waning recently, given that her pick for a vacant council seat was not ultimately nominated by her peers. In a meeting this past July, Rogers nominated Bill Dikun, a former councilman and her 2007 running mate, to fill a vacancy left when Mitch Remig left council to work for the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.

However, the Republican County Committee of Point Pleasant instead nominated three other candidates, including

Rogers had begun the local and remained active in that while she ran for mayor.

Rogers was named "Woman of the Year" by the Ocean County Federation of Republican Women in 2009 and, as such, was honored by the Ocean County Board of Freeholders at a meeting that year, as noted on the board's agenda for March 18, 2009.