Patrolman Joseph Kennedy Named Long Branch Officer Of The Month

Courtesy of the Long Branch Police Department

Congratulations to Officer of the Month PO Joseph Kennedy!

Kennedy responded to Jack’s Goal Line Stand on Dec. 10 on a report of a hit and run in the parking lot. It was reported that a male subject backing out of the lot hit a parked car and left the area on foot. Kennedy was informed that the driver had returned to his car and was attempting to leave. Kennedy followed the car and attempted to effect a stop, but the driver accelerated and attempted to elude the officer. By the time Kennedy was able to safely stop the vehicle, the other driver had exhibited other signs of drunk driving such as turning on a red light, swerving and hitting a utility pole.

Once apprehended, the subject continued to be extremely uncooperative with any officer direction at headquarters from both PO Kennedy and his partners. He was charged with eluding, DWI, reckless driving, failure to keep right, failure to observe a traffic control device, two counts of hit and run, two counts of failure to report an accident, failure to provide the vehicle registration, refusal to submit to breath testing and obstruction. He was transported to the county prison in lieu of $50,500.00 cash bail.

Officer Kennedy was able to safely remove this dangerous driver from our streets without any injuries or major accidents.

Officer Kennedy grew up in Long Branch and graduated from Long Branch High School in 1998. He worked as a SLEO in our town from 1999 to 2001 and then as a dispatcher in Deal from 2001 to 2004. He was hired as a full time patrolman for the Long Branch Police Department in 2004 and has been with us for 10 ½ years.

Patrolman Kennedy is married with two children. He enjoys going for drives all over the state, exploring different landmarks such as lighthouses, state parks, and little-known places of interest. Most often, he claims to be somewhat of a homebody whose favorite activity is spending time with his family.