Video: N.J. police chief retires amid investigation into fight with own officer at crash scene
Bradley Beach police Chief Leonard Guida can be seen on body camera video grabbing an officer’s jacket as the officer worked a crash scene, leading to a brief physical altercation
By Jeff Goldman
nj.com
BRADLEY BEACH, N.J. — The Jersey Shore police chief who has been on administrative leave following a verbal and physical confrontation with an on-duty sergeant during a drunk driving investigation last year will retire this week, the town’s mayor said Monday morning.
Bradley Beach police Chief Leonard Guida’s retirement will be effective on Friday, Mayor Larry Fox said in a statement. Guida had previously planned to retire on Sept. 1, according to Fox. Guida’s salary is $202,500, meaning he’ll lose about half a year’s pay with the earlier retirement.
“As many of you know, there has been an ongoing investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office,” Fox wrote. “Their report is complete, and actions have been taken based upon the recommendations from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. I appreciate the concerns raised by many of you and I take them very seriously.”
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Guida sent a text to NJ Advance Media saying he had no comment after a message was left on his cell phone.
Multiple police body-worn cameras recorded the incident on Nov. 9 between Guida and Sgt. William Major on Main Street in Bradley Beach. News of chief’s suspension was first reported by TapInto.com, which obtained the body worn camera footage following an Open Public Records Act request.
In the videos, Major is seen investigating a crash involving a suspected drunken driver.
Guida, who was off-duty, approached Major as the sergeant investigated the crash, according to the video. The chief commented about the condition of Major’s jacket, then grabbed the sergeant, the video shows. That started a brief physical altercation between the two in which Major pushed the chief onto the hood of a police car.
The two then started verbally sparring. They traded comments, including the chief telling the sergeant he was “relieved” and to meet him at the police station. “That’s an order,” the chief said.
Toward then end of the video Guida said, “You know I love you,” to Major.
The public wasn’t told Guida had been placed on leave from his $202,500 a year job until a resident raised questions at a borough council meeting in December.
“I’d like to thank Chief Guida for his 40+ years of service to our borough,” Fox said in the statement. “Under his leadership, our community has become a much safer place to live.”
Guida has been the chief since 2007. He has been a public employee in New Jersey since 1983.
Capt. James Arnold will serve as acting chief until a replacement is hired.
NJ police chief retires early after drunken kerfuffle with his own cop who slammed him on car hood : mayor
By
Published Feb. 26, 2024, 3:17 p.m. ET228
The Jersey Shore police chief who was slammed on a car hood during a caught-on-camera scuffle with a subordinate will retire Friday — six months earlier than planned, officials said.
Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida has faced mounting criticism over the last week after local news outlet TAPinto published bodycam video of the Nov. 9 incident, in which an apparently inebriated Guida is seen swaying and stumbling his way up to a drunk driving crash as he berates his own sergeant.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into his actions, which led the borough to suspend the chief from his $202,000-per-year job.
Now it appears Guida’s conduct that night will end his career, too.
“[The prosecutor’s] report is complete, and actions have been taken based upon the recommendations from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office,” Mayor Larry Fox said in a Monday statement.
“I’d like to thank Chief Guida for his 40+ years of service to our borough,” Fox continued. “Under his leadership, our community has become a much safer place to live.”
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The announcement comes just days after the explosive body camera footage surfaced, showing Guida and Sgt. William Major erupt into a violent argument after Guida questioned Major about why the lettering on his jacket had peeled off.
“Why you got a jacket on that’s not fit to be worn?” Guida asked on the recording. “Get rid of it. That’s ridiculous. You’re a sergeant, for God’s sake.”
Major took the jacket off, then walked back to the smashed-up car. But Guida wasn’t done, and called for Major to come back. When the sergeant ignored him, Guida followed and went to grab his arm.
“Don’t you touch me!” Major yelled as he grabbed the swaying chief by his lapels and threw him up on the hood of a police cruiser. “Don’t you f–king touch me! You have a problem? You grabbed me! Now get out of here, before you get a problem.”
Then he lifted Guida off the car and shoved him away, muttering that his boss was “drunk again,” according to the footage.
Guida began telling other officers to “take him in,” to which Major responded by again trying to shoo him away.
“Chief, get out of here, or you’re gonna’ get locked up,” Major said. “Chief, you’re gonna’ get locked up. You’re grabbing me, I asked you three times to leave me alone. You’re obstructing my DWI … You grabbed me. You were out of line. It’s on video. I’m not going to argue.”
Guida suspended him on the spot, the footage showed. But Major has since returned to duty — even as Guida has remained on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, citizens of the little seaside town just south of Asbury Park took it upon themselves to call for Guida’s dismissal.
“We believe that his continued presence in this position is detrimental to our police force, our community’s well-being and our trust in law enforcement,” resident Beth Keppler wrote in an online petition.
Keppler also slammed Fox and the town’s business administrator, saying that townspeople do not trust the pair to handle the situation appropriately.
“This lack of transparency undermines public confidence and erodes the very fabric of democratic governance,” Keppler wrote.
Several borough council members echoed her statements, with one saying the mayor “kept the Council in the dark regarding in this investigation” and another adding that Fox usurped the council’s authority by taking sole control of the decision about Guida’s future, according to TAPinto.
“Despite all of the Council’s efforts to communicate, Mayor Fox and his administration have ignored our numerous requests for an Executive Session to review the prosecutor’s report and to participate in the decision process,” Council President Jane DeNoble said in a statement obtained by the outlet.
NJ Police Chief Slammed By Cop Onto Car Hood After Arriving Drunk At DWI Crash, Retires
An internal investigation found that former Police Chief Leonard Guida committed dozens of policy violations
by Stephen Rivers
An internal affairs investigation in New Jersey found 28 policy violations committed by the police chief himself. In one case, he showed up to a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) investigation while impaired himself and got into a physical altercation. Now, he’s retiring as a result of the findings.
Seven of the violations related directly to an incident where Leonard Guida, the now-former police chief, arrived at a DWI scene while intoxicated himself. In bodycam footage from the incident, he’s seen approaching a lieutenant and complaining about the officer’s jacket.
When the officer attempts to go back to doing his job, Guida pursues him and begins to grab him by the arm. At that point, the lieutenant slams Guida against a patrol car and yells at the chief, finishing by saying “you’re drunk again”.
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The chief went on paid leave when the incident happened in November. The investigation was ongoing at the time and concluded with very clear findings. Several of the incidents in the report indicate that Guida may have an alcohol abuse problem.
The officer who slammed him on the hood reported that Guida had been coming to work intoxicated in the previous six months. That might explain some of the other behaviors that resulted in additional policy violations.
The report specifically called out his tendency to yell at his subordinates over “minor inconsequential things when they are trying to do their jobs.” During the investigation, Guida called these same subordinates “not credible, not nice, and not capable.” What a boss he must have been.
“The findings outlined in this report illustrate unmistakably that over the previous year and a half, Chief Guida has been an active hindrance to the very law enforcement agency he was entrusted to lead. The picture the report paints is not pretty – but that is precisely why we felt that it was so vitally important to publicly release it,” Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “Transparency is rendered meaningless if ugliness is kept opaque.”
He retired on March 1st and technically could reapply to rejoin the police force at any time. If he does, the internal affairs office would likely recommend some form of discipline though. For now, it’s held off, citing his retirement as the reason for not suggesting consequences.
