LAKEWOOD — A local police officer has been arrested and charged with official misconduct after conducting an illegal search of a car – and later falsifying documents to conceal his wrongdoing, authorities said.

Jeremy Felder, 28, was charged in connection with the search of a car last August, said Joseph Coronato, the Ocean County Prosecutor.

Felder allegedly participated in an illegal search of the car – which resulted in the seizure of drugs, said authorities.

Felder later falsified documents and his police report to conceal the illegal search, added Coronato.

Although charges were filed by Felder against the occupants of the car, all those charges were later dropped, added Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor.

Authorities are not commenting further on the details of the illegal search or the falsified paperwork, Della Fave added. Felder had been a Lakewood patrolman since 2011, Coronato said.

A Lakewood police spokesman directed all questions to the prosecutor.

Felder and several relatives listed in public records could not be reached today. But his attorney, Stuart Alterman, said his client was acting as a professional police officer - and was pursuing a just investigation.

"It seems as if police officers are guilty until proven innocent," Alterman said. "We stand by his innocence."

Alterman confirmed that prior to working for Lakewood, Felder had served as a Jackson Township police officer.

Felder has been suspended without pay since his arrest Tuesday, Alterman confirmed. The patrolman’s bail was set at $15,000 with no 10-percent cash option by a judge, Della Fave said.

The official-misconduct charge is a second-degree offense, authorities said.

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