Union Beach Police Chief Questioned By Monmouth County Prosecutor

UNION BEACH, NJ - Union Beach Police Chief Charles Ervin was the subject of an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's office this winter, Mayor Paul Smith and the police chief himself confirmed this week. Chief Ervin was interviewed by the prosecutor's office over allegations that he ordered one of his officers to work an off-duty security job at a local bar while on duty, Ervin told Chasing NJ in their exclusive report, which you can watch below.

That local bar is the now-closed UB Social. The town of Union Beach required an off-duty police officer to be posted at the bar due to complaints from neighbors about noise and rowdy, drunk behavior. The town billed the bar $60 an hour for the off-duty officer to sit outside the bar from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night.

The issue arose when Union Beach police officer Robert Harriott said he was forced by the chief to work the security detail at the bar last September while he was on duty for his regular shift — essentially double dipping. He said he was ordered by his sergeant to go to UB Social and sign in, all while he was on duty. The sergeant told him the chief wanted someone at the bar even though Harriott and one other officer were the only police on duty that night. Harriott refused and two days later, he sent a memo to police Capt. Michael Woodrow about the issue.

Harriott was also asked to write an invoice to the bar for $240. "I feel this is double dipping," Harriott wrote in his memo.

Chief Ervin said the allegations are false. Union Beach Mayor Paul Smith confirmed the prosecutor's office looked into the Union Beach police department. But he also said the prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against Chief Ervin. Instead, the prosecutor asked the town of Union Beach to review the incident, Mayor Smith said.

"They sent a letter with no criminal activity and for us to look into it and make changes where they're needed," said Mayor Smith, who also said he still has confidence in Chief Ervin. "Absolutely. If he made a mistake, he made a mistake. I'm not going to criminalize him. He's been with us a lot of years. He's a good man."

Mayor Smith confirmed to Patch that the town's investigation into Chief Ervin and the police department is ongoing. However, he did add that the county prosecutor expects some sort of disciplinary action or reprimand to be taken.

"That's the impression I got," said Smith. "They've handed this to us now."

"While I can't comment on this because it's under investigation ... it's absolutely wrong," for on-duty officers to be assigned to off-duty work, the mayor said.

UB Social filed a notice of claim against Union Beach, saying they were the target of a harassment campaign by Chief Ervin and Mayor Smith. UB Social also says they were forced to have the police security detail, so they refused to pay the more than $7,000 in off-duty security detail fees. That means Union Beach taxpayers paid for police detail. UB Social was barely open for 18 months when it closed.

Here is a follow-up Chasing NJ did: