 The last day of a person's career usually involves tearful goodbyes, firm handshakes and perhaps a slice of cake.
On the last day before he retired, Middletown Police Cpl. Frank Holden wrote tickets.
Only
Holden did not issue 14 tickets for expired inspection stickers on Dec.
31 to negligent residents, but to the Middletown Police Department.
For
months, officers have made arrests and issued tickets while cruising
the streets of Middletown in vehicles that needed to be inspected,
Holden said.
"How
are we supposed to uphold the law when we're breaking it ourselves?"
asks Holden, 50, a 26-year veteran of the department who lives in
Middletown. "I just did my job."
Middletown
is investigating the validity of the tickets Holden wrote, said Bernard
Reilly, the township's attorney. It is considering challenging them in
court.
Holden wrote some of the tickets for police vehicles that were out of service, Reilly said.
"They were not operational," Reilly said. "(Holden) did it out of personal motivation. He was embittered."
Holden
said he retired because he was tired of working with a police chief,
Robert Oches, whose leadership is "sucking the life out of the
department" and causing morale among the ranks to drop.
Holden
said he spoke with Oches several months ago about the police vehicles
that needed to be inspected. The chief promised to look into it, Holden
said.
"This had been known for a while," Holden said. "It was ignorance."
Oches declined to comment.
Driving
a vehicle with an expired inspection sticker may result in fines
between $100 and $200, according to the Web site of the state Motor
Vehicle Commission. A judge can also set a jail term of up to 30 days.
In addition, the MVC may revoke registration privileges, according to the site.
A
new vehicle needs to be inspected four years after it is initially
registered, and every two years afterward. All the vehicles Holden
issued tickets for failed one of the two time requirements, he said.
To
avoid the potential for a conflict of interest, the case is likely to
be moved out of Middletown's Municipal Court, Reilly said. A date and
location have yet to be set, he said.
During
its Jan. 22 meeting, Middletown Township Committee authorized spending
$359,616 to buy 16 new vehicles for the Police Department.
Mayor
Gerard Scharfenberger said he is anxious to find out if any of the
tickets are legitimate. If Middletown were found to be guilty,
Scharfenberger wonders whether the township would need to write a check
to itself.
"It's
sort of an unusual occurrence," said Scharfenberger, who also wonders
what Holden's motivations were for writing the tickets. "It appears to
be a disgruntled parting shot."
As
an officer, Holden said there were times when he did not issue tickets
to motorists for failed inspection stickers because his own cruiser
could not meet the same standard.
"My only hope is that the vehicles are inspected and that the officers are safe," Holden said. "It's time to end the hypocrisy." (APP)
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