A Kearny police sergeant agreed to retire after poor demeanor and neglect of duty complaints were sustained last year, the department’s annual major discipline report shows.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Several IA complaints were sustained against Sergeant [Timothy] Castle in 2024. One stemmed from his demeanor during a motor vehicle stop, during which he used coarse language and an aggressive demeanor towards off‐duty coworkers, after Sergeant Castle stopped the vehicle in which they were traveling,” the description says.
“Next, staff at a retail store lodged multiple complaints against Sergeant Castle, alleging poor demeanor and neglect of duty‐‐specifically, that Sergeant Castle was refusing to arrest shoplifters if the dollar value of the shoplifting offenses was not significant. Two of these
complaints were sustained for neglect of duty and other related policy violations.”
The report continues that no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was uncovered by the internal affairs investigation, nevertheless, Castle entered into an agreement with the Town of Kearny to retire before being disciplined for any of the aforementioned incidents.
“This is being reported as major discipline since it is likely that, had Sergeant Castle
not retired, major discipline would have resulted,” the incident summary concludes, with no other officers included in the report.
Castle joined the Kearny PD in 2001, was named the Policeman of the Year in 2004, and was promoted to sergeant in March 2022, according to The Observer.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has mandated since mid-2020 that all law enforcement agencies post their annual major discipline reports online by January 31st of each year, but many still just submit to the AG’s office through an online portal.
The state’s annual database has also not been updated with each department’s major discipline report yet.
The North Bergen, Weehawken and West New York Police Departments have not uploaded their reports yet.
HCV reported on the Bayonne police sergeant who was suspended for 10 days after losing his department-issued gun and ammunition, as well as the termination and suspension of two different Guttenberg police officers, yesterday.
stay off my property