Sayreville Police Officer Admits He Covered Dashboard Camera While Running Personal Errand

SAYREVILLE, NJ — A Sayreville police officer who was arrested in Woodbridge earlier this year admitted in court Thursday that he tampered with his patrol car camera to hide that he was running an errand while on duty.

Sayreville Police Officer James P. Pizzillo was arrested in Woodbridge Township on Saturday, April 8; he was arrested while in uniform and in his Sayreville patrol car. Patch was the first to report on his arrest at the time.

Pizzillo was charged with one count of covering up his dashboard camera.

On Thursday, Pizzillo admitted that he covered up the camera so it wouldn't record a "quick, personal errand" he was running in Woodbridge while on duty, his private attorney Michael Weiss said in court Thursday, according to NJ.com. The lawyer did not say exactly what that errand was.

Pizzillo was a young police officer who just joined the Sayreville force in January of 2015. He is an Iraq war veteran and comes from a family of law enforcement. His brother is a Sayreville police officer, and his father is a retired police chief with the South Amboy Police Department. He made $55,496 a year, but he was removed from duty after he was arrested. With his confession Thursday in court, Pizzillo agreed to give up any future employment with law enforcement.

Middlesex County prosecutors are recommending one to five years of probation. Past Patch reporting: Sayreville Police Officer Arrested In Woodbridge