Ex-State Trooper From Waretown Misused ID While Suspended: AG (2024)

Crime & Safety

Ex-NJSP Sgt. Marc Dennis, 51, of Waretown, used ID he shouldn't have had while suspended to get out of nine traffic stops, officials said.

Posted Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 4:38 pm ET

Ex-NJSP Sgt. Marc Dennis, 51, was sentenced on official charges of official misconduct and a pattern of official misconduct, Platkin said. Dennis will serve his prison time without the possibility of parole, Platkin said.

Dennis was suspended by State Police in September 2016 on allegations that he failed to properly calibrate breath test machines, which lead to more than 20,000 DWI breath tests being made invalid.

While suspended, Dennis was ordered to surrender his NJSP identifications and was relieved of his law enforcement powers, Platkin said. But he kept his ID and used it at least nine times when pulled over to get out of traffic stops, all while suspended, Platkin said.

“This defendant used a State Police ID he improperly retained after a suspension to benefit himself by violating the public’s trust,” Platkin said. “I am deeply grateful for the commitment, sacrifice and upstanding character that the vast majority of our state’s law enforcement officers exhibit on and off the job. We will not tolerate abusive behavior by one bad actor reflecting poorly on the numerous officers abiding by the law, upholding it and making New Jersey safer.”

An investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and the NJSP Office of Professional Standards found that Dennis had surrendered most of his identification, but held onto a NJSP ID card that he got after reporting his wallet as lost in January 2016, Platkin said.

He made use of that ID, in spite of his suspension and pending criminal case, by presenting it to police who pulled him over in Marlboro, Toms River, Berkeley Township, Lakehurst and elsewhere, Platkin said. Dennis was stopped nine times from the date of his suspension, Sept. 19, 2016, through April 2018, and during those stops he had shown that ID and presented himself as an active member of the NJSP.

Following his trial, on May 10, 2022, a jury convicted Dennis of one count each of second-degree official misconduct, second-degree pattern of official misconduct, and third-degree theft by unlawful taking in connection with his misuse of his ID to avoid motor vehicle citations.

Dennis was sentenced on both the official misconduct and pattern of official misconduct counts, with the sentences to run concurrently, with the theft count merged. The court also ordered that the defendant forfeit his pension and job, and banned him from public employment for life.