Irvington, NJ Police Chief Paid $115K While Suspended

It is always a blow to the American people when our police work against our best interests.

When we catch one, it should be a slam dunk so, why is this police chief still getting paid considering the charges against him?

Can we trust internal affairs to keep these public servants honest when their investigations are being directed by the people that they are supposed to be investigating?

Irvington police chief paid $115K while suspended, sparking state investigation

IRVINGTON — Irvington Police Chief Michael Chase hasn’t worked a single day in the past nine months, but a series of legal fits and starts has allowed the town’s suspended top cop to take home roughly $115,000 so far this year, leading to a state investigation, officials said.

The delays have angered township leaders, who note Chase has collected most of his $154,272 annual salary while suspended.

"What they’ve done is given him a legal no-show job," said Councilman David Lyons.

Calls to Chase and his attorney were not returned.

Lyons said the entire situation is a fiscal drain on an already cash-strapped town.

"The police department is costing us a hell of a lot of money. The townspeople are being robbed because the whole police issue is going to cost us money because the chief is not working, and he’s not working because of them," Lyons said, referring to Santiago and Smith.

A report on the prosecutor’s probe obtained by The Star-Ledger in January revealed the investigators found that Chase ordered Internal Affairs detectives to kill the investigation into his nephew and that Internal Affairs failed to properly investigate more than 100 citizen complaints against officers.

The report also suggested Chase used the Internal Affairs Unit to unfairly punish officers he had disagreements with.