Lakewood, Howell Officers Among Hundreds Disciplined in Statewide Crackdown on Police Misconduct

Two officers from the Lakewood Police Department and one sergeant from Howell Township were among nearly 550 New Jersey law enforcement officers disciplined for major misconduct in 2024, according to a newly released report from the state Attorney General’s Office.

The annual report shows a significant rise in disciplinary actions across the state, with 543 officers facing termination, suspension for more than five days, demotion, or other sanctions last year. The total number of major disciplinary actions reached 644, as some officers were cited for multiple violations.

This marks an 18% increase over 2023, and a 40% increase since 2021 — the first full year that agencies were required to report major disciplinary actions under a 2020 directive from then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The rise is partly attributed to expanded reporting requirements enacted in 2023 under Attorney General Matthew Platkin, which now include offenses such as excessive force, dishonesty, and misconduct involving evidence or criminal charges.

Lakewood Police Department

The report lists two serious cases from the Lakewood Police Department:

• Officer Justin Burkhardt resigned from the force while under investigation for using a “camera-defeating” license plate cover to avoid toll payments and detection. Although he left the department before the probe was completed, the Internal Affairs Bureau ultimately sustained the charge of “Conduct Unbecoming.”

• Officer Joseph Rusk was fired after being found guilty of untruthfulness during an internal investigation. The inquiry began in January 2023 after a complaint alleged that Rusk left a paid extra-duty assignment without supervisor approval and later submitted a fraudulent payment request. Rusk contested his termination, but in October 2024, the Office of Administrative Law upheld his dismissal, and the New Jersey Civil Service Commission finalized the action the following month.

Howell Police Department

In Howell, Sergeant Richard Conte was officially terminated on January 22, 2024, following a criminal conviction for computer-related offenses. Conte had been arrested in 2018 as part of “Operation Open House,” a major sting operation targeting internet crimes against children, coordinated by state and county agencies including the New Jersey State Police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Following his arrest, Conte was immediately suspended. On August 25, 2023, he was convicted in Ocean County Superior Court of violating N.J.S.A. 2C:20-25C (Computer Criminal Access) — a third-degree crime. His termination came shortly afterward, making him one of the few officers in the report whose disciplinary action stemmed from a criminal conviction.

Statewide, the report shows officers from 172 law enforcement agencies were disciplined, while about 370 agencies reported no major infractions. Although the majority of New Jersey’s 42,000 officers “serve honorably and valiantly,” according to Attorney General Platkin, the data reveals systemic misconduct in some departments.