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RED BANK: McCONNELL REBUTS ALLEGATIONS

red bank darren mcconnellChief Darren McConnell at the police station in 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank police Chief Darren McConnell acknowledged Saturday that he’d had a relationship with a former “significant other” of a department employee “years ago,” but none since.

The admission came two days after the police union accused McConnell of engaging in “numerous inappropriate and questionable sexual relationships with the significant others'” of department personnel, as well as alleged ethical lapses that led to “no confidence” vote by local members last month.

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RED BANK: PBA BLASTS McCONNELL’S ‘ETHICS’

PBA president Mike Zadlock, at table, addressing the council while the union’s executive committee members stood. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See CLARIFICATION below]

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank’s police union accused Chief Darren McConnell of “numerous inappropriate and questionable sexual relationships” with employees and other alleged ethical lapses Thursday night.

The allegations, aired during a council meeting, came a month after a previously undisclosed “no confidence” vote by Police Benevolent Local 39, and almost two weeks after McConnell had been expected to retire.

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RED BANK: FRAZEE TO BECOME POLICE CHIEF

Captain Mike Frazee, left, at an incident with Chief Darren McConnell (back to camera) in April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank-born-and-raised police Captain Mike Frazee will become the borough’s next police chief, succeeding Darren McConnell, Mayor Billy Portman announced Thursday night.

The handoff, however, will be delayed “several weeks” as McConnell’s retirement, previously expected to occur next week, has been postponed, McConnell said.

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RED BANK: McCONNELL TO RETIRE

Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell on Broad Street after the Red Bank Classic 5K Saturday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Darren McConnell, Red Bank’s police chief and interim administrator, plans to retire next month, he told redbankgreen Saturday.

McConnell’s exit means the incoming mayor and council will now have to fill the top two administrative jobs at borough hall while implementing a new “council-manager” form of government approved in a voter referendum last November.

And there’s an outside chance McConnell could return as the manager.

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RED BANK: CHIEF TO ADDRESS SAFETY QS

Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell plans to address public safety concerns following recent mass shootings in Texas and New York in a community Zoom meeting scheduled for Monday evening. 

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RED BANK: CHIEF REBUTS ABUSE CLAIM

Screengrab from a post by Nina Ferrante on the Red Bank New Jersey Facebook page Sunday. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s police chief disputed a claim of excessive force posted on Facebook Sunday, telling redbankgreen that there was “no physical contact at all” when officers encountered a couple on New Jersey Transit property Saturday night.

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RED BANK: CHIEF ADDRESSES USE OF FORCE

red bank nj policeRed Bank’s police chief hasn’t seen a single case of unwarranted force during an arrest in five years, he tells redbankgreen. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s police chief says he reviews every report of force used by members of his department during arrests, and hasn’t found any in the past five years that appear improper.

Chief Darren McConnell’s observation followed the release by NJ Advance Media last week of data on every arrest in which police used force in New Jersey over four years.

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RED BANK COPS TO RIDE FOR LATE CHIEF

s-mccarthyPolice Chief Steve McCarthy in 2010. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi. Click to enlarge)

donegoodlogoMembers of the Red Bank Police Benevolent Association plan a memorial bike ride this week for the late Chief Steve McCarthy, who died last September.

Thursday’s 25-mile ride to Brielle, expected to include between 50 and 70 officers and civilians, falls one day before the annual Police Unity Tour, in which cops bike to Washington, D.C. in honor of law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty.

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RED BANK: NEW CHIEF TAKES COMMAND OF PD

darren mcconnell 2 121813Darren McConnell chats with Mary Ellen McCarthy, the widow of late Red Bank Police Chief Steve McCarthy, shortly before his swearing-in as McCarthy’s sucessor Wednesday evening.

McConnnell, 44, joined the department as 19-year-old patrolman, shortly after his graduation from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional, and served most recently as a captain. He’ll earn a starting salary of $133,414 to oversee the 40-person department.

Also sworn in were four new patrolmen, including Cevin Albert, a Red Bank native who has worked in the department since 2008 as a dispatcher. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

RED BANK: McCONNELL TO BE NAMED CHIEF

darren mcconnell 081612Captain Darren McConnell is expected to be named chief of the Red Bank police department at Wednesday night’s borough council meeting, redbankgreen has learned. McConnell has been the officer in charge of the department since the September 23 death of Chief Steve McCarthy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

RED BANK: PLAN FOR CHIEF’S CORTEGE

RB day funeral 092513Southbound Riverside Avenue in Red Bank will be closed for about an hour Friday morning for the funeral of police Chief Steve McCarthy, which begins at the John E. Day Funeral Home, at left above. (Click to enlarge)

Red Bank commuters may encounter delays or detours Friday morning during the funeral cortege for police Chief Steve McCarthy, police said.

With numerous vehicles expected to assemble at the John E. Day Funeral Home on Riverside Avenue for a procession to a church in Long Branch, southbound Route 35 along Riverside Avenue will be closed  for about an hour before the procession gets underway at 9:30 a.m., Captain Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.

The procession will also include a brief stop of the hearse outside the police station, at 90 Monmouth Street, and a silent tribute by Red Bank volunteer firefighters outside St. James Church on Broad Street, McConnell said.

Full details below.

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RED BANK CHIEF STEVE MCCARTHY DEAD AT 50

Chief Steve McCarthy at borough hall in November, 2011. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank Police Chief Steve McCarthy died Monday morning following an extended battle with cancer. He was 50 years old.

McCarthy died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he had been hospitalized in recent weeks, Mayor Pasquale Menna confirmed.

“I have lost a good friend and invaluable partner,” Menna said in a statement released at noontime. “The police department has been deprived of the spirited leadership and unstinted dedication of the most consummate law enforcement professional in the state. His fellow borough employees have lost a colleague who was a true friend. The residents of Red Bank have been deprived of an intelligent, gracious, gentle and efficient public servant.”

“The whole department is beside itself with grief,” police Commissioner and Council President Art Murphy told redbankgreen. “Everybody in [borough hall] is taking it very hard.”

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McCARTHY TO BECOME POLICE CHIEF

mccarthy-chief-steve1Acting Chief Steve McCarthy is expected to be sworn in Sunday to formally take command of Red Bank’s 41-officer police department, redbankgreen has learned.

McCarthy, right, follows retired Chief Mark Fitzgerald, who stepped down in November after seven years at the helm. Fitzgerald has been burning off accumulated vacation time since then, and officially ends his role as a borough employee tomorrow.

McCarthy said he could not confirm that he would be sworn in at the borough government reorganization meeting on Sunday, when elected officials have said they will identify their choice from among the four police captains eligible for the job.

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TWO WEEKS WORTH OF MISCHIEF

doublepatch

This installment of our regular Red Bank crime wrapup includes two weeks of police reports instead of the usual one. As always, the information below was supplied by the Red Bank Police Department and appears here unedited.

Week of June 26 to July 3, 2009

Criminal Mischief occurring Riverside Ave. between 6-27-09 and 6-28-09. Victim reported that unknown person(s) broke the windshield wiper arm off of vehicle. Ptl. David Hicks.

Criminal Mischief occurring in Marine Park on 6-28-09. Report of a port-a-john being knocked over on to its side by unknown person(s). Ptl. George Travostino.

Criminal Mischief occurring on Oakland St. on 6-28-09. A Latino male was seen breaking a lamp attached to a restaurant and knocking over temporary stop signs at the intersection and breaking sand bags. Ptl. Paul Perez.

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POLICE REPORTS: A WEEK OF MISCHIEF

Spotlight

Unedited entries from the Red Bank Police Department activity log for the week of November 7 to 14.

Criminal Mischief occurring at Globe Court between 11-6-08 and 11-7-08. Victim reported that unknown person(s) broke two window in the business. Ptl. Paul Perez.

Theft occurring on 11-7-08 at Maple Ave. Victim reported that unknown person(s) stole a wallet containing credit cards and I.D. from locker. Ptl. George Travostino.

Theft occurring on 11-7-08 at West Front St. Victim reported that unknown person(s) stole a Verizon LG Cellular telephone. Lt. Daniel Bannon.

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RED BANK: CATALYTIC CONVERTERS STOLEN

By JOHN T. WARD

A thief or thieves cut a valuable piece of equipment from two cars in one night last month, Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell said Tuesday.

Stolen sometime during the night of October 19 were catalytic converters, which contain precious metals that reduce harmful exhaust emissions, McConnell told redbankgreen.

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RED BANK: THRIVE PLAN GETS BOARD OK

A rendering of the proposed Thrive Red Bank project, as seen from Shrewsbury Avenue. (Rendering by CPA Architecture. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA proposed apartment building for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities won approval from the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.

Advocates called the approval historic, and said it would allow them to create a model for desperately needed housing for neuro-diverse adults.

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RED BANK: MCPO WEIGHS IN ON PBA CLAIM

Chief Darren McConnell speaking at an event in 2021. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicThe Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office amended its policy on internal-affairs investigations into matters involving relatives of local police chiefs in February, the agency told redbankgreen Monday.

But the changes were “not formulated as a reaction to any one specific matter,” the MCPO said in a statement that appeared to contradict an assertion made last week by Red Bank’s police union about borough police Chief Darren McConnell.

McConnell said the statement bares “another misrepresentation of the facts by the PBA.”

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RED BANK: COUNCIL TO TAKE AIM AT GRAFFITI

Borough attorney Greg Cannon, right, with interim Administrator and police Chief Darren McConnell, will draft proposed new laws to limit graffiti. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

See CLARIFICATION below

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank’s mayor and council are planning measures they hope will counter an increase in graffiti around town.

Here are some highlights from last Thursday’s semimonthly meeting.

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RED BANK: PARKS AND MORE ON AGENDA

An update on plans for Marine Park is on the agenda. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicThe agenda for the Red Bank council session Thursday night includes a presentation on the status of planned changes at the Marine Park.

It also includes minutes of the most recent session, which for the first time, are available for public review prior to formal acceptance.

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RED BANK: BROADWALK BOLLARDS GO BIG

Red Bank officials this week began to address one of the foremost complaints about the downtown Broadwalk zone: the presence of “ugly” orange safety barrels used to supplement steel bollards installed last year.

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RED BANK: EVENT SLATED AT SENIOR CENTER

Repair work continued at the Shrewsbury Avenue facility last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank officials have scheduled a dedication ceremony this week at the borough’s long-closed Senior Center.

But not, it turns out, to reopen the facility, which still isn’t quite ready for prime time, according to the interim borough Administrator Darren McConnell.

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RED BANK: PARKING, EV CHARGING ON AGENDA

The council is eyeing requirements for electric vehicle charging in new multifamily projects and parking lots. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njOn the Red Bank mayor and council’s agenda for Wednesday night: rules requiring electric vehicle chargers at new developments, and a change in the parking law for a stretch of Spring Street.

Not on the agenda: the burning issue of how to rewrite the town’s cannabis law.

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