file photo by Boyd Loving
County prosecutor clears Ridgewood police chief in hiring flap
October 22,2014
Boyd A. Loving
12:14 AM
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police Chief John Ward was cleared by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office of any “criminality” in connection with the hiring of two new police recruits earlier this year. This according to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, who publicly announced the official findings during Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session.
During a heated Village Council meeting on January 29th, a meeting attendee who spoke during the public comment segment accused Chief Ward of manipulating civil service guidelines in order to hire the son of a current police officer, and the son of a retired police captain. Ward, who insisted that no rules were broken and that the two individuals hired met all civil service qualifications, requested that the Prosecutor’s Office fully investigate his actions.
One of the hired recruits, Keith Killion, was sworn in at a Village Council meeting earlier this month.
