Internal Affairs Unit
Neptune Township Police Department
25 Neptune Blvd.
Neptune, NJ 07753
(via e-mail only to
RE: Lieutenant Robert Mangold
Dear Sir or Madam:
I chair the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Police Accountability Project and ask that you accept this letter as an Internal Affairs complaint. We would like your agency to investigate whether Lieutenant Robert Mangold and other personnel employed by your agency acted in accordance with department policy and the law regarding a warrantless strip search of Daniel Dolan on October 8, 2011.
According to the Appellate Division's decision in State v. Daniel Dolan, Docket No. A-0623-12T4), (on-line here) despite not having a warrant to do so, Lieutenant Mangold gave Officer Bryce Byham permission to strip-search an arrestee, leading to the discovery to two glassine bags of heroin. The trial judge found that the strip search was illegal and suppressed the heroin as evidence. The Appellate Division affirmed.
It seems to us that Mangold, as a Lieutenant, should have known better than to authorize this warrantless strip search. If his training in this area was adequate, we ask that you impose sanctions upon him. Otherwise, we ask that your department review and supplement the training requirements in this area of the law.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Very truly yours,
John Paff, Chairman
New Jersey Libertarian Party
Police Accountability Project
P.O. Box 5424
Somerset, NJ 08875-5424
Phone: 732-873-1251 - Fax: 908-325-0129
Email: