RED BANK POLICE: COP "MISAPPROPRIATED" MONEY FROM FELLOW OFFICER

A screenshot of the Red Bank Police Department Annual Major Discipline Reporting Form.

By BRIAN DONOHUE

A retired Red Bank police officer was docked 114 days of sick and vacation time as punishment for misappropriating money belonging to another officer earlier this year, according to a report filed with the state and Monmouth County Prosecutor.

Patrolman Thomas Doremus was found by an internal affairs investigation to have engaged in conduct “subversive to the good order of the department” according to the Red Bank Poice Department’s Annual Major Discipline Reporting Form.

Doremus “misappropriated funds of another officer to manage personal services,” and agree to the penalty, the form reads.

A 2021 state directive requires police departments to publish and submit to the New Jersey Office of Attorney General and county prosecutors information on suspension, terminations, and any other major discipline imposed on officers.

There are no further details on the form and no date indicating when the investigation concluded or when the alleged offense occurred.

Red Bank Police Chief Mike Frazee declined to comment. Calls and texts to the president of the Red Bank Police Benevolent Association Local #39 President went unreturned. A spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment.

When asked about the penalty by redbankgreen, Doremus declined to comment saying only, “I’m retired.”

Doremus was badly injured in a July 2021 car crash on Monmouth Street, according to a lawsuit he filed against the driver of the vehicle that struck him.

In the complaint, Doremus’s attorney said the crash left him with “serious and permanent personal injuries.” In a letter to the judge in the case, attorney Michael Hanus said the crash occurred while Doremus was “in the course of employment with the Red Bank Police Department.” The lawsuit was settled in May, according to court documents.

In March 2015, Doremus and several other officers received a Life Saving Award from the Borough Council for using CPR to save the life of a citizen in cardiac arrest.

Since 2018, Doremus, using his middle name of Wylie, has been the administrator of the popular 8,900 member Facebook group Red Bank Chatter, which has become a primary forum for discussions of town happenings and issues facing the community.

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.