'Meddlesome' Lavallette gets back control of cops, slapped for lack of background checks

LAVALLETTE - The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has ended its supervision of Lavallette's police department after confronting issues that included no background checks or proper psychological screening for at least four police employees, a faulty communications system that led officers to rely on their personal cellphones, and a lack of required training for both officers and supervisors, according to the prosecutor's report.

"I'm proud of the work we have done to assist the Lavallette Police Department," Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. "The police officers — the men and women that wear the uniform in Lavallette — have been very receptive to our implementation of formal procedures, practices and policies. I'm optimistic that Chief (Christian) LaCicero will lead these men and women effectively moving forward."

While Billhimer praised police department staff for their cooperation, the prosecutor's office report was critical of Lavallette's governing body, as well as Business Administrator John O. Bennett III and Borough Attorney William Burns, for what the report describes as a "meddlesome pattern of behavior" into "the daily operations of the police function(s) of the department, and continuous attempts to interfere with OCPO's implementation of plans/directives/policies designed to meet current police standards."

Chief LaCicero, 38, is the son of Mayor Walter LaCicero, himself a former Lavallette sergeant and a lawyer. Before he was appointed chief in the fall, Christian LaCicero was one of two sergeants vying for the chief's position. The other candidate, Justin Lamb, is a Toms River councilman and son of Robert Lamb, who is a councilman in Lavallette.

Ocean County real estate: What 5 Ocean County ZIP codes had the biggest and smallest home price rises?

Lavallette sued the prosecutor's office last week, claiming the prosecutor's continued control of the department violated state law, and that the borough had not received regular reports updating officials on changes made by the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor's office took over the day-to-day operations of the Lavallette police department in mid-May 2022, to ensure the "appropriate level of direction and supervision" for the 13-member force, Billhimer said at the time.

'The borough is just happy to have control back'

Burns, the borough attorney, on Friday said no decision has been made on whether to continue with the lawsuit, since the Borough Council has not met to take official action. But he said it is likely that the borough will drop the lawsuit, "based on the transfer of full command and control" of the police department back to Chief LaCicero and the borough.

Burns did not directly respond to the report's claim of meddlesome behavior on the part of the governing body, the administrator and himself. "Regardless of the statements in the report concerning that, the borough is very happy that this matter has been resolved in the manner that it has, without the need for expensive and protracted litigation," he said.

"The borough is just happy to have control back," Burns said, and said the mayor and council have "full faith and confidence" in Chief LaCicero.

Mayor Water LaCicero said, "We're happy that they decided that their job here is done. At the same time we are a little bit disappointed that the larger questions that our lawsuit asked will not be answered."

Among them, he said, was whether or not the prosecutor's office acted properly when "spending borough money" and "writing purchase orders" while in charge of the police department, the mayor said.

Why it might happen: Beach replenishment could come during the Jersey Shore summer tourist season

Billhimer said that "the lawsuit had nothing to do with the timing of our departure from supervising the day-to-day operations" of the police department. He said the prosecutor's office had decided in mid-February that March 24 "would be our target date" to give control back to Lavallette.

"It was important for Chief LaCicero to complete chief’s training with the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as Internal Affairs training provided by my office," Billhimer said. "Once those two trainings were successfully completed, we felt comfortable restoring full command and control back to the properly trained Chief of Police.”

LaCicero completed a "new police chiefs orientation" held by the chiefs association on March 17, according to the prosecutor's office. Sgt. Michael Monica, who the prosecutor's office said was appointed by the Borough Council as the department's internal affairs officer without having the required training, finished the state Attorney General's course for internal affairs investigators on March 10.

In its suit against the prosecutor's office, Lavallette had asked for the prosecutor's office to remain in charge of police internal affairs even after giving day-to-day control over the department back to the borough.

'Deficiencies that remain'

The interference by Lavallette officials is one of several "deficiencies that remain" in the police department, according to the prosecutor's office.

Among the other remaining deficiencies cited in the report are:

• Not having any detectives on the 13-member force to conduct investigations, unlike other departments of Lavallette's size in Ocean County.

• Lack of an "executive command staff." There are no captains or lieutenants on the force, and Chief LaCicero is in charge of all day-to-day operations. "This limits his ability to be proactive in setting and meeting goals for the department and meeting the directives" of the state Attorney General's Office and the prosecutor's office.

• Police officers are not equipped with tasers, which leaves officers "ill-prepared to deal with incidents where less-than-lethal force may be warranted."

Lavallette: Salted Gems brings treasures of the world to Ocean County shop

Billhimer has urged Lavallette's governing body to pursue accreditation for the police department through the state chiefs association. Accreditation is a voluntary process whereby law enforcement agencies adopt and agree to maintain a series of standardized policies and procedures. In Ocean County, 26 police agencies have achieved accreditation, Billhimer noted.

In separate letters to the prosecutor, Business Administrator Bennett and Borough Attorney Burns have said Lavallette does not have the money to pay for the accreditation process, which would include about $40,000 to hire a consultant and an annual $13,000 cost to renew accreditation.

Billhimer said he hopes that Lavallette officials will change their minds and seek accreditation in the future. "Accreditation ensures that a law enforcement agency is operating at maximum efficiency and reduces risk and liability exposure," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor's office report lists 25 "deficiencies" resolved since Billhimer appointed Anthony Carrington Jr., chief of detectives for the prosecutor’s office, as the officer in charge of the police department. The prosecutor also rehired Joseph Mitchell, who retired in 2021 as the prosecutor’s chief of detectives, to handle the day-to-day operations in Lavallette.

Among the deficiencies the prosecutor's report said have been resolved:

• Implementing a full background investigation requirement for all new hires. Such an investigation, as a condition of employment, had not been conducted on four police employees before they were hired. An updated investigation on those employees has since been completed.

• Implementing a "fit for duty" psychological evaluation for all new hires. Lavallette "lacked consistency" in obtaining psychological assessments for all police personnel. "Two officers were disqualified from continued employment or entrance to the police academy based on a negative" psychological evaluation.

• Replacing a defective radio system antenna and battery back-up so that officers no longer use personal cellphones to communicate.

• Starting a "two officers minimum" assigned per shift policy. "The two officer shift coverage is necessary for the safety of the community and that of the officers."

• Coordinating input of information into the police's Computer-Aided Database (CAD), "to provide intelligence and safety information in the event an officer is dispatched to the same location or to the same individual more than once." The system had not been used for this purpose before.

• Implementing a police information and messaging system to make sure all police personnel comply with required training, review of directives, standing operating procedures and general orders.

• Installation of radar units in marked patrol vehicles and certifying police in the operation of radar. The radar units were not in patrol cars and officers "were either not current or not certified" to operate them.

• Starting a community policing plan where all police officers "have been advised to be proactive in policing and to conduct area checks, as time allows during their respective shifts, of commercial businesses, residential areas, etc. Officers have been encouraged to walk the business sections of the borough and introduce themselves to business owners."

• Updated Lavallette police department webpage to include "promoting diversity in law enforcement recruiting and hiring" as required by the state Attorney General's Office.

• Updating body armor policy to require all officers to wear department-issued body armor; previous policy did not require officers to wear body armor and some patrol officers were not wearing it.

The prosecutor's report documents increases in business and residential checks that happened under OCPO control, which went from zero in the first three months of 2022 to 200 this past January, 127 in February and 103 as of March 20 of this year.

Responding to the contention that Lavallette officials were "meddling" in police operations, Mayor LaCicero said he did not believe anyone in the borough had behaved improperly.

"I pay my business administrator and I pay my borough attorney to protect the rights of the municipality," LaCicero said. "That’s all they were doing."

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 38 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle,  jmikle@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lavallette NJ gets back control of cops, swatted over 'deficiencies'