Bridgewater Cop Suspended For Lying About Illness

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — On Tuesday, for the first time ever, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office publicly released all the names of New Jersey police officers who were subject to major discipline between June 15, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

"Major discipline" is defined as police officers who were terminated, demoted, or suspended for more than five days.

And a police officer with Bridgewater Township police is on that list.

The Bridgewater Township officer is Anne Alosi. According to the report, she was suspended for 180 days in 2020 for "Neglect of Duty and Truthfulness. The officer lied about an illness and failed to report for duty, causing overtime for the department," read the report.

Five other officers serving in Somerset County were also named on the list.

Somerset County Sheriff Officer Raymond Thompson was suspended for 25 days in 2020 for "Violation of Sick Leave Policy," read the report.

Bernards Township officer David Martin was suspended for 55 days in 2020 for "violation of Bernards Township Police Department Policies and Procedures and Rules and Regulations," read the report.

Martin was convicted of driving while intoxicated(DWI) while on duty. Martin has since resigned from the Bernards Township Police Department, according to the report.

North Plainfield Patrolman Mikeedwar Jean-Baptiste was terminated in 2020 for "Statutory Misconduct in Office, in violation of NJSA 40a:14-147."It is unknown what the misconduct was.

South Bound Brook Police Sergeant Richard Meinsen was suspended for 19 days in 2020 for "misuse of departmental computers."

Watchung Police Officer Sean Bouchard was suspended for 90 days after being arrested and charged with violations of [DWI], [Reckless Driving] and [Refusal to Submit to a Breath Test].

This is the first time information like this has been made public. It was released in accordance with the Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2021-6, which former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal made two months ago, in light of this summer's New Jersey Supreme Court decision authorizing the public release of certain police disciplinary information.

The names of any police officer in New Jersey who received "major discipline" will now be made public in a yearly report. This includes county sheriff's officers, New Jersey State Police and correctional officers.

The law change is meant to be more transparent with the public, to let the public know how their tax dollars are being spent and also to improve police-community relations.

"We are releasing this information not to shame or embarrass individual officers, but to provide the same type of transparency and accountability in policing that New Jersey mandates in other essential professions," said Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck on Tuesday. "The vast majority of New Jersey's law enforcement officers serve the public with honor and integrity, doing the right thing day-in and day-out for the communities they serve, so I take no joy in putting this information out. But we are doing this because it is an important and necessary step to build greater public trust while promoting professionalism in law enforcement."

You can find the entire 2020 disciplinary report here: njoag.gov/majordiscipline.

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