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RED BANK: POLICE CAMERAS COMING SOON

rbpd 041416Body cameras could be fully deployed by September, says Chief Darren McConnell. (2016 photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

AUTHORITIES_RB-2016-v3As they will across New Jersey, police-worn body cams will soon be the norm in Red Bank, officials said.

But state funding for the devices and related data storage will only cover about a third of the cost, said police chief and acting borough administrator Darren McConnell.

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RED BANK: NO BODY CAMERAS, FOR NOW

rbpd 041416Body cameras are being tested by RBPD’s traffic unit, but Chief Darren McConnell said he’s holding off on adopting general usage. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

AUTHORITIES_RB-2016-v3Eight months after his department won a grant to purchase body cameras, Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell says he’s holding off, waiting for improvements in the technology.

Routine use of the cameras is inevitable, McConnell tells redbankgreen. But he’s not a strong believer that they’re necessary, and at present, they’re beyond his budget, even with the free money.

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MIDDLETOWN: PAIN DOC SENTENCED

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03A former Red Bank physician who once ran an illegal prescription painkiller ring was sentenced to six years in New Jersey state prison last week.

Middletown resident Kenneth Lewandowski, 53, who Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni once called “parasitic,” was sentenced Friday to six years in prison with a two-year period of parole ineligibility under a plea deal accepted by  Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.

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RED BANK: POLICE TO GET BODY CAMERAS

rbpd 110915Borough police will get 20 body cameras under a grant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

AUTHORITIES_RB3Red Bank police will soon begin wearing body cameras on the streets, under a grant announced Monday by Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman.

Aimed at increasing transparency in policing, the program will provide 176 towns statewide with $2.5 million to buy 5,000 cameras and ancillary equipment, Hoffman.

Red Bank is slated to get almost $9,000 under the program, enough to buy 20 cameras, according to a list published by nj.com. More →

RUMSON: PRINTER CITED FOR RX PAD LAPSES

AUTHORITIES_RUMSON2New Jersey authorities have barred a Rumson print shop from producing blank prescription forms used by doctors after an investigation uncovered lax controls, state Attorney General John Hoffman announced Tuesday.

Nelson Press, based on East River Road, was found to have unwittingly provided Rx pads to a Middletown physician whose medical license was suspended, the state Division of Consumer Affairs said in a press release. The failure enabled the physician, who has since been arrested as the head of an alleged drug ring, to “obtain and write unauthorized prescriptions in another physician’s name for oxycodone and other potentially addictive painkillers,” the state alleged.

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TITLE COMPANY EXEC GETS 12 YEARS IN JAIL

just_in1The owner of a Red Bank real estate title company is heading to state prison for a dozen years for stealing $3.8 million of client funds to fund personal investments, according to an announcement by the state Attorney General.

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