Middlesex County Jail, Sheriff's Officers Named In AG's Report

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — On Tuesday, for the first time ever, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office publicly released the names of all 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.

Two correctional officers who work in the Middlesex County Jail were on the list, and two who work for the county Sheriff were on the list.

The Middlesex County Corrections officers are:

• Jose Ortiz, terminated in 2020 for abuse of time and leave requirements, according to the Attorney General's report.
• Patrick Bonkowski terminated in 2020 for abuse of time and leave requirements, according to the report.

Middlesex County Sheriff's officers:

• Recruit Mary Porter terminated in 2020 for inability to perform duties.
• Officer Edwin McLean suspended for 10 days for excessive absenteeism.

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 who work in the state's jails and prisons.

Multiple corrections officers in the Monmouth County Jail were on the report. Read that story: 8 Monmouth Co. Corrections Officers Faced 'Major Discipline'

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: https://www.nj.gov/oag/iapp/do...

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