Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan returned to work June 8 after reaching a settlement with the township.
The June 7 agreement removed all but one of the six charges that were leveled against the chief in March. The remaining charge accused the chief of failing to follow instructions to provide 68 hours of dispatcher training.
The police chief said during an April 20 administrative hearing that he was not notified that the training had not taken place. He also said during the hearing that the township had ambushed him with the charges, because he was never given an opportunity to remedy the situation.
Labor Attorney Kenneth Rosenberg, who presided over the hearing, said in his ruling that even though Bryan was not notified about the lack of training, “the buck stops with him” as chief of police.
“This agreement was made because the chief just really wanted to return to work and get back to the department job that he loves,” said Bryan’s attorney, Vito Gagliardi Jr. of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, Morristown.
Bryan, who has served with the police department for over 27 years and was appointed chief by then-Mayor Jun Choi in 2009, had been suspended with pay since March 22. On that date, former Business Administrator Dennis Gonzalez notified Bryan of six charges — all involving the chief’s alleged failure to follow directives from the mayor and the administration — and the decision to suspend him for two weeks without pay. Three days later, in response to a legal challenge from Bryan, township officials changed it to a suspension with pay.
Bryan earns an annual salary of $180,000.
Deputy Police Chief Carmelo Vaticano assumed the chief’s duties in Bryan’s absence.
Following the 11-hour administrative hearing April 20 at Edison Town Hall, Rosenberg found Bryan guilty on four of the six charges and recommended that he serve a five-day unpaid suspension.
Gagliardi said Bryan agreed to give up five of his vacation days in order to fulfill the five-day unpaid suspension.
The attorney stressed that the agreement includes the understanding that there are no longer any pending charges against the chief.
“This way there is no uncertainty,” Gagliardi said. “This allows the return of stable leadership to the Edison Police Department, [which is what is best] for the public safety of the citizens.”
In the wake of his suspension, many came out in support of Bryan. Members of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and the Middlesex County Association of Chiefs of Police called the charges against the chief frivolous and his suspension unlawful. And in April, the Edison Township Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution to return Bryan to active duty.
At a June 8 meeting, members of the Township Council said they were happy the chief has returned to work. However, they continued to raise concerns about a lack of communication between the council and the administration of Mayor Antonia Ricigliano. Council members said they found out about the chief’s return to work from a news report instead of from an official township source.
Township Management Specialist William Stephens, who is serving as acting business administrator due to the recent departure of Gonzalez, said he learned of the agreement the same way as the council. However, he did not have a problem with the fact that he was not notified.
“This was an agreement between the mayor and the chief,” he said.
The township’s labor attorney, Louis Rainone, told the council that neither he nor Bryan’s attorney contacted the media about the settlement. He explained that he was on his way home from work on June 7 when he received a call from the Bryan’s attorney, who said he had received a call from the media asking about the settlement.
“I was not aware that the mayor had signed the settlement agreement until after my 40-minute ride home,” he said. “My bill [of $35,000] in this case concluded as of yesterday [June 7], in which an agreement was made of a five-day penalty.”