At the following link is my letter to the State Pension Board asking whether Hillside Police Officer James K. Holmes, who was convicted of aggravated assault for shooting his stepson in the leg, is permitted to retire “in good standing” from the police department and receive a pension. The letter is here.
What’s interesting, I think, is that the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office, who handled the cop’s prosecution, failed to ensure that an order was entered by the criminal court that required the cop to “forfeit” his job. After I brought this failure to the prosecutor’s attention, they filed a motion with the court and obtained a forfeiture order. Prior to the motion, however, the town and the cop agreed that the cop could retire in “good standing.”
But, the forfeiture order was made retroactive to a date prior to the retirement agreement being signed. My question is whether the agreement is now null and void because the officer had no job to resign from at the time he signed the agreement.
John Paff, Chairman
New Jersey Libertarian Party’s
Police Accountability Project
