2 Cops In Asbury Park Busted Again; One Fired, Another Suspended

UPDATE: Guilty: 2 Asbury Park Cops Busted; One Fired, Another Suspended

ASBURY PARK – A suspended police officer and a fired cop were busted Saturday for the second time in three months for official misconduct in two New Jersey towns, prosecutors said. Both were sent to the Monmouth County jail.

The two officers are now facing additional charges relating to two separate vandalism incidents from September 2019, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Saturday.

Police Officer Stephen Martinsen, 30, and former Special Law Enforcement Officer Thomas Dowling, 26, both of Asbury Park, were charged with two counts each of second-degree official misconduct relating to two separate incidents of vandalism to two vehicles, both owned by the same person, prosecutors said.

As a result of the charges, Martinsen has been suspended from the Asbury Park Police Department without pay and Dowling’s employment with the city has been terminated.

One the vandalized vehicles was parked in Ocean Grove and the other was located in Asbury Park, prosecutors said. Both were vandalized between approximately 3 and 4 a.m. on or about Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Martinsen and Dowling purposely damaged both vehicles, prosecutors said. The vehicle owner had filed an administrative complaint against both cops several days before the vandalism incidents.

Dowling and Martinsen had previously been charged with two counts each of third-degree conspiracy, two counts each of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (a knife), two counts each of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and two counts each of fourth-degree criminal mischief.

Martinsen has been part of the department since 2013, starting as a special law enforcement officer, class 1, in May 2013. He became a class 2 in May 2014 and then became a full-time member of the force in July 2017. Dowling had been a class 2 officer since May 2015.

If convicted of second-degree charges, Martinsen and Dowling face up to 10 years on each charge in a New Jersey State Prison and a possible five year period of parole ineligibility.