ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) - A suspended New Jersey police officer and a former special law enforcement officer face additional charges relating to two alleged vandalism incidents, prosecutors said.
Monmouth County prosecutors said the Asbury Park officers - 26-year-old Thomas Dowling and 29-year-old Stephen Martinsen - were charged Saturday with two counts each of official misconduct. They also face eight charges filed earlier including conspiracy, criminal mischief and weapons counts.
Authorities have alleged that the two wore disguises when they rode their bikes in September to two vehicles owned by a citizen who had filed a complaint. Authorities allege that they then slashed the vehicles’ tires and Dowling broke a window, injuring his arm.
Authorities allege in an affidavit of probable cause that two masks, two sets of gloves and two knives were found in Dowling’s vehicle and clothing worn by the pair and bloody bandages were found in his home.
Dowling, who was a special officer, has been fired. Martinsen, a full-time officer, was suspended without pay. Calls seeking comment were made to their attorneys Sunday.
Resident Ernest Mignoli, 70, who describes himself as a “freelance journalist’’ who videotapes and photographs police activity, had filed an administrative complaint against both officers several days earlier. He told NJ Advance Media that his “jaw dropped”when he learned police officers were accused of the damage to his Jeep Liberty and Toyota Prius in Ocean Grove and Asbury Park.
“I just wouldn’t think it would be in the scope of police officers to do something like that,” Mignoli said. “I’m a concerned citizen, outspoken critic of Asbury Park Police Department. But this goes behind the pale.”
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