Crime & Safety

Former New Brunswick Police Sergeant Accused of Mishandling 81 Internal Affairs Investigations

Sgt. Richard Rowe faces a maximum of six and a half years in prison if found guilty.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the New Brunswick Police Department announced Tuesday that former police sergeant Richard Rowe has been charged with mishandling 81 internal affairs investigations over five years.

Rowe, 43, faces the charges of tampering with public records or information and obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function.

He was suspended on March 21 of this year without pay after it was discovered internal affairs files he was overseeing were missing. He subsequently resigned Aug. 4.

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According to the Prosecutor's Office, following a full audit and reinvestigation of claims filed, Rowe is accused of knowingly recording false information regarding 81 investigations between 2003 and 2007. He recorded them as closed or thoroughly investigated when they were not.

He also "removed, concealed or destroyed some of the files regarding the 81 investigations," the press release said.

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According to the Prosecutor's Office, during the course of the investigation, questionable complaints were reopened.

"Any incident where the file was missing, had not been investigated, and/or deemed not properly investigated, was re-opened and re-investigated to completion," the release said.

Rowe has worked for the city police force since 1990, starting as a police officer and being assigned to Internal Affairs in Sept. 2002 through March 2008.

He was making $123,202 annually when he was suspended.

The Prosecutor's Office said that no excessive force complaints filed against the two officers involved in the recent fatal shooting of city resident Barry Deloatch were handled by Rowe while he oversaw the department, but one mishandled investigation did involve one of the two officers in 2006. 

A complaint charged the unnamed officer and his partner with failing to comply with a city resident's request to file a criminal complaint in a domestic violence incident. That complaint was not properly closed out by Rowe, after being investigated by a supervisor.

The Prosecutor's Office has declined repeatedly to name the two officers involved in the ongoing investigation of the Deloatch shooting, but they have been named by the law firm representing the Deloatch family as Brad Berdel and Daniel Mazan. 

Moving forward, the Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday that the police deparment has made changes to internal investigations to ensure proper record keeping and avoid compromised investigations.

Notably, the Prosecutor's Office will now be given access to every internal affairs complaint against the police force for additional review before the case can be closed. 

Mayor James Cahill has called a press conference scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the police station, 25 Kirkpatrick St., to discuss the changes made to internal affairs.

In a prepared statement on Tuesday, he said that he was "appalled" by the charges.

"His alleged actions have caused tremendous damage to our police department and its members. My administration and our police department are going to do what it takes to undo this damage and rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in local law enforcement,” Cahill said.


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