Asbury Park cop who complained to prosecutor could be punished for letterhead

ASBURY PARK - A city police sergeant who complained that the police department's internal affairs division was mishandling investigations faces discipline, including the loss of 19 days' pay, for setting forth his concerns using department letterhead and a city envelope.

Sgt. Kamil Warraich, 40, appeared at a city disciplinary hearing Tuesday at city hall, where he faced allegations he violated department policy by sending his concerns to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office on the department's letterhead.

He also faces a charge of insubordination for not responding promptly to an internal affairs memo ordering him to answer whether he had authorization to file his complaint on the letterhead.

"He reasonably believed he had the right to send it," said Warraich's attorney, Arthur Murray. "He was not sending it for his own business, he was sending it for the greater good, so to speak, as it relates to the department."

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Murray said he did not meet a deadline to respond to the order regarding whom he received permission from to use the letterhead because of confusion over the process. He ultimately did respond, but not by the department's initial deadline, his attorney said.

It all started when Warraich wrote a memo on April 17, 2017, about his concerns with the city police department's internal affairs unit.

He said he raised his issues with department supervisors before he sent the letter. "These are concerns that I've had longstanding," Warraich said at the hearing.

Warraich is a 10-year veteran of the force. Public records available on Datauniverse.com indicate he makes about $104,000 a year.

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He also is facing discipline for sending an email to Deputy Chief David Kelso and other members of the department, as well as the local police union, expressing his frustration with waiting to receive a date for a disciplinary hearing regarding the letter, which ultimately was held on Tuesday.

Steve Glickman, an attorney for the city, said the email sent in January used language that was unbecoming of a police officer and was unprofessional.

The hearing officer was City Manager Michael Capabianco, who will decide what, if any, punishment Warraich will face. Warraich requested that the hearing be held in public.

Warraich did not elaborate as to what specific concerns he raised in the letter to the prosecutor's office, but said he was concerned the police department's internal affairs unit was not adhering to New Jersey State Attorney General's Office guidelines for conducting investigations. He said he believed that some of the investigations were handled unfairly.

Internal affairs divisions typically handle citizen allegations of officer misconduct, as well as internal issues involving departmental policy and procedures. In the video at the top of this story, a former West New York police officer -- who is now an internal affairs expert -- tells his story of alleged retaliation he experienced while working undercover with the FBI to rid his department of problems.

The Asbury Park Press requested a copy of the letter sent by Warraich from Capabianco, who referred the Press to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to the Press on Tuesday.

Capabianco said the Prosecutor's Office declined to investigate the unit, saying the matter needed to be handled by the city's mayor, John Moor, who in turn gave it back to Capabianco.

The Prosecutor's Office determined that the issues amounted to a grievance, or administrative matter, as opposed to a criminal matter, Murray said.

Capabianco said he referred the matter to now former acting Police Chief Anthony Salerno Jr., who in turn handed the complaints back over for investigation by the department's internal affairs unit.

It's unknown if any changes were made as a result of Warraich's complaints.

Kelso, who attended the disciplinary hearing Tuesday but did not speak, declined to comment on the case when approached by the Press.

Murray, Warraich's attorney, said usually a decision is rendered 20 days after the initial disciplinary hearing.

Austin Bogues 732-643-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com