Hoboken Cop Who Resigned Tells True Story Of 'Suffering' On Podcast

HOBOKEN, NJ — A former Hoboken police officer who was disciplined for misconduct tells his story on the "Suffering Podcast," which allows people to open up about overcoming obstacles.

Former officer Matthew Isler said on social media last month that "Our conversation lifted a giant monkey off my back" when he talked about what happened in the Hoboken Police Department.

Then, he posted this past Sunday, "Check out @TheSufferingPo1 #175 about my resignation from the @HobokenPD" alongside a photo of Tony Soprano with the words, "Didn't care yesterday, don't give a sh-- today, probably won't give a f--- tomorrow"!

The full episode, "The Suffering of Resignations," hadn't been posted as of Monday, but a preview received more than 8,000 views by the end of the weekend.

In 2022, Isler was suspended for 180 days for neglect of duty. According to a state report, "The incident involved not arresting an actor responsible for having committed a robbery in the presence of the officer. Officer Isler also did not include critical details surrounding the incident in his investigation report."

Ultimately, Isler resigned, which he talks about on the podcast.

The podcast allows men to be vulnerable and looks at "Success through suffering," or overcoming challenges.

The podcast says of this episode, "From the campus of Montclair State University, Matthew Isler witnessed the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. It eventually inspired him to pursue a career in law enforcement. For over a decade he took police exams. After graduating from college, Matt had a desk job in publishing for seven years and was eventually laid off.

"A week later, he finally received his police test certification from the city of Hoboken. He also received a letter from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police department regarding employment. At the age of 33 years old, Matt graduated from the Bergen County Police Academy. He was sworn in on December 23, 2013, as a Hoboken police officer. His career was unfortunately cut short after nine years of service, due to misconduct."

The hosts posted on social media with hashtags including, "keep suffering" and "mental health," "never alone," "anxiety," "depression," and "resilience."

What He Reveals In Parts 1 And 2

Part 1 of the talk with Isler was posted Monday, but the discussion of his police officer career only begins toward the end. You can watch part 1 here.

On Tuesday, the podcast posted part 2. Isler talks about his first few years of police work, including responding to frequent fentanyl overdoses, dealing with the bars, and patrolling Hoboken's public housing.

He praised the department, but said he got off to a rough start by being part of a unit that was ultimately disbanded.

At 21:30 he talks about how his career with the police began to end. It related to the hours worked (and not worked).

See part 2 of the podcast here.

Update: Part 3 Posted

Part 3 of the podcast was posted Wednesday morning, April 24.

"For the chief to write what I did was criminal in nature? Man," he says near the beginning.

Isler was disciplined and signed a year-long "last chance agreement" to stay on. But one wrong move could get him terminated.

After that, "A civilian complained about me, and rightfully so," he said. He said he responded to an incident involving two women arguing, before the end of his shift, but didn't follow the proper procedure in handling it.

He still survived with an 180-day suspension.

The final straw was when Isler responded to a business owner who saw a man smoking crack. Isler responded and could smell the drugs, he said. But he saw the guy leaving, and let it go. Someone from the next shift picked the man up.

Isler said he was told, "We're going to make you an offer you can't refuse" to resign rather than be terminated.

That way, he was able to interview at other police departments, and he did. Demand was high, he said, and he went on approximately a dozen interviews. "Half of them were just horrible," he said.

Watch it here.