State authorities suspended the police license of a top officer in the Penns Grove Police Department last month for failing to ensure other officers in the department were properly licensed.
The Salem County Prosecutor’s Office assumed operations of the department on May 20 – the same day the state’s Police Training Commission (PTC) informed Lt. Robert Frett his license was suspended.
Frett, the highest-ranking sworn officer in Penns Grove who carries the title officer-in-charge, failed to comply with the state licensing law concerning two officers, according to a May 20 letter the PTC sent to Frett. The PTC is within the state Attorney General’s office.
Specifically, the letter accused Frett of knowingly employing an officer from September 2022 to May 2025 even though he had no license to be a police officer in New Jersey.
And, “law enforcement action (the officer) took over the course of those three years is invalid as he is not a licensed law enforcement officer,” the letter says.
Frett also falsely certified that another officer met requirements to work for the department, “despite information that shows he failed to disclose his prior termination from Pennsauken Police Department for sustained internal affairs findings.”
In the letter, Frett was also accused of failing to reach out to the state. “You never contacted the Police Training Commission before employing (officer) to inquire as to the reasons he was previously terminated from Pennsauken Police Department,” it said.
As the department’s chief law enforcement executive, the duty to investigate police applicants’ backgrounds and keep licenses up to date was Frett’s responsibility, the letter says.
A call to Frett through his department phone was not immediately returned.
Penns Grove’s civilian police director, Richard Rivera, speaking for the department, defended the town’s measures to stay current with licensing.
As he drove to the PTC’s monthly meeting Wednesday morning, Rivera said the Frett letter, which he received as well, was an “overreach” and contained factual errors.
For example, he said the one officer was formerly a New Jersey State Police trooper. When he joined the department in 2022, he did not have a license, Rivera said.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the licensing law in June 2022 but it did not take effect until Jan. 1, 2024.
The state issued the officer a temporary licensing identification number, “And we thought everything was fine.”
Rivera said the department knew about the other officer’s background and the officer is appealing his termination from Pennsauken.
The PTC is coming down hard on the department when they should be helping, Rivera said.
“Every police chief should be concerned about being suspended for clerical errors relating to licensing,” Rivera said last month.
The Salem prosecutor’s office, which initially declined to discuss the licensing matter, said Wednesday through a spokesperson they had no comment on the letter to Frett, but said the PTC’s actions led to the takeover.
“[The] licensing actions taken by the PTC necessitated that Prosecutor [Kristin] Telsey exercise her supersession authority as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in Salem County,” the spokesperson said.
As for the prosecutor’s office, Rivera said last month he welcomed assistance from the prosecutor’s office as the department dealt with staffing issues from the licensing matters.
Four officers had to go on desk duty due to licensing issues which he said were from a state audit of the department. That left only four officers for patrol duties and an inability to maintain 24-hour police coverage, Rivera said.
On Wednesday, Rivera said he continues to be thankful for the prosecutor’s office augmenting Penns Grove’s police patrols, but he believes the office “overstepped” their authority.
“I’m speaking to an attorney about suing the [prosecutor’s office],” Rivera said.
Meanwhile, Penns Grove’s police union, a unit of the Salem County Fraternal Order of Police, issued a statement welcoming more prosecutor’s office involvement with the department.
The union said its raised, “significant concerns” about the department’s current management, policies, and practices and specifically about the “adequacy and consistency” of background investigations for new hires and department assignments.
“We believe the current situation requires a thorough review and a commitment to improvement. We welcome the oversight of the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office as a crucial step towards restoring public trust and ensuring the highest standards of law enforcement are maintained,” the statement said.
Rivera said of the statement the union, “smells blood in the water,” but he will press on with his job.
Stories by Kevin Shea
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com