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Jan 28, 2008 7:18 pm US/Eastern
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Retiring Officer Tickets 14 Cop Cars On Last Day
Former Officer Claims He Did It Out Of Safety Concerns
Reporting
Jay Dow
MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (CBS) ―
It's something just about every worker has dreamed of: doing something on their last day to really get under the boss' skin.
Retired New Jersey
police officer Frank Holden actually had the chutzpah to do it.
On his last day on the job before his retirement began, Holden wrote 14 motor vehicle summonses -- a final going away gift of sorts -- to his bosses back at headquarters. But he says he did it on his last day not to be a thorn in his boss' side, but instead out of fear of retaliation.
"I issued the township administration a number of motor vehicle violations for failing to maintain their equipment," Holden tells CBS 2.
Holden says he wrote the tickets after finding the 14 township vehicles, most of them active duty police patrol cruisers, with expired or missing inspection stickers.
He claims he informed his higher-ups about the problem months before he wrote the summonses.
"It's an embarrassment and a major safety issue to the township. The people depend on us. We have to have safe vehicles," he says.
Holden says he told his boss about the problem, and that his boss said he'd look into it, but that he wasn't aware of it ever being addressed.
But Holden says he did not work alone in gathering the fleet's inspection information. And he says he wrote the summonses out of safety concerns for his fellow officers, and the township they serve.
Not everyone agrees with that sentiment.
"I would characterize them as a disgruntled employee," says Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches.
According to Oches, he first found out about the inspection issues after Holden turned in his badge. He claims none of the ticketed vehicles were even in use at the time.
"I'm actually going to turn over the summons that I know are falsely sworn to the Monmouth county prosecutor's office," he says.
Middletown intends to appeal the summonses, which will be handled by an outside judge and prosecutor
.
Both Holden and Oches say they're ready.
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