Middlesex County stripped Carteret’s police chief of power hours after he was promoted to the post by the mayor and a year after the officer, who has yet to take the chief’s exam, was described by the county as “ineffective."

The borough’s longtime mayor, Daniel Reiman, said Chief Dennis McFadden, who was promoted from deputy chief, was respected in law enforcement throughout the county and state and his appointment on Jan. 1 to acting chief was well-deserved.

“In my 18 years with the Borough, the last 16 as Mayor, there isn’t anyone who I believe is more qualified to serve as Chief of our Department,” Reiman said in an email.

That respect, though, doesn’t appear to extend to the county prosecutor’s office.

“I continue to have serious concerns regarding the leadership of the Carteret Police Department and its impact on public safety,” Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said Wednesday when asked about the promotion.

The same day as McFadden’s appointment, the county agency took over control of the department’s internal affairs. The prosecutor’s office, which is the highest law enforcement agency in the county, has never taken the extraordinary step of seizing control of the department’s internal affairs unit since Carey has been at the helm. Even Edison, despite numerous criminal investigations, has never fully lost control to the county under his leadership.

Last March, recently hired Carteret Police Director Kenneth Lebrato was ordered by the county to take over the department’s internal affairs after the county found McFadden "ineffective in executing his official duties.”

The rare step to appoint a civilian to oversee internal investigations was in response to McFadden’s handling of excessive force complaints and failing to run background checks for local gun buyers for nearly two years, according to a scathing letter from Carey obtained by NJ Advance Media. The internal affairs order was renewed after its initial six-month term, according to a letter sent by the county.

Lebrato, a retired assistant county prosecutor who previously worked under Carey and as the borough’s municipal attorney, is set to retire next week after less than a year in that role.

The mayor said he was in support of county control over internal affairs and downplayed the measure, saying it will not change the day-to-day operations.

Capt. Michael Dammann, who was also previously promoted without taking the civil service exam, will remain as the internal affairs officer but will now report to the county instead of Lebrato.

Residents previously told NJ Advance Media they had dealt with Dammann when filing complaints about the mayor’s youngest brother, officer Joseph Reiman, and claim they were ignored.

McFadden appears to have stayed in the good graces of the full-time mayor — who, for years, has assumed the duties of the empty borough business administrator position — in the fallout of the scandals, which includes an excessive force case against Joseph Reiman.

The mayor defended McFadden Wednesday, saying he has followed protocol from the previous chief and that the former prosecutor has never had any issues with the new chief. Carey took over the prosecutor’s office in 2013, around the same time or just shortly after McFadden was promoted to deputy chief.

McFadden has served as deputy chief for the last six years, but for at least two years, since the last chief has retired, he has been the top cop in the department and often referred to as the chief in press releases.

The mayor’s brother, Joseph Reiman, is facing a multi-count indictment over the violent arrest of a teen that was captured on dashboard video.

Another Reiman brother, Charles, was second on scene and did not turn on his body camera as he arrived at the incident, creating a gap of time in the videos in the arrest. Both are named in a lawsuit over the encounter.

In videos and records obtained by NJ Advance Media, Joseph Reiman had shown a pattern of using force during his arrests, and his fellow officers said they believed the encounter with the teen was not uncommon and feared it would be covered up.

The officer has denied all wrongdoing in court and is currently suspended with pay. That case is set to go to trial in the spring.

New Jersey’s Civil Service Commission, which handles testing for new hires and promotions, confirmed that McFadden has not taken the chief’s test. The state civil service commission allows local leaders to fill open positions if not enough people have passed the exam.

When asked about the two provisional positions, the mayor put the blame on the civil service for its exam schedule.

“Civil Service may ultimately call for a test depending upon the limited number of individuals who may even be eligible to sit for such a test,” he wrote in an email.

The state held exams for both positions in December.

The mayor will publicly announce the chief’s appointment at Thursday’s council meeting.

Correction: The mayor does not have the title of business administrator, as was previously reported, but has assumed the duties of the empty post. This story has been updated.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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