Three months have passed since Westfield town officials were made aware of the hit & run accident that took place in an area of the Westfield conservation center under lock and key controlled by the Westfield police department. TFoTM received a tip from a source confirming an accident report had been filed by Westfield Detective Lieutenant Leonard Lugo. Once notified, town officials were mandated to pass the information along to the Union County Prosecutor since it was alleged that the Westfield police chief was involved.
A subsequent OPRA request filed with the Westfield Town Clerk seeking information regarding a March 2018 accident involving Westfield Police Chief David Wayman at the conservation center was returned stating that no such report existed.
An OPRA request was filed with the Union County clerk seeking information regarding an accident that took place in Westfield where a Union County Prosecutors Office vehicle was struck in the Westfield conservation center. The U.C. clerk provided TFoTM with a copy of not only the accident report filed and approved/reviewed by Det. Lt. Lugo, but also an investigation report that was filed by Lugo a month after the accident and approved by “JMCE.”
Being called into question is the validity of the accident and investigation reports filed by Lugo.
The alleged suspect in the hit & run is Westfield Police Chief David Wayman. It has been alleged that Westfield Patrolman Donald Domanowski was a witness to the accident and was allegedly coerced into silence.
One would expect that the Union County Prosecutors Office could wrap up its investigation into the “hit & run” in a few days barring any other misconduct uncovered during it’s investigation.
*How did Det. Lt. Lugo come across the accident in the locked compound of the Westfield conservation center on Lambertsmill Rd.?
*Who reported the accident to Det. Lt. Lugo?
*How does a hit & run accident occur in an area of the conservation center that is under lock and key and access is controlled by the police department?
Where was the Westfield police chief at the time of the accident?
Where was Patrolman Domanowski at the time of the accident?
Every police vehicle can be tracked by GPS and the location can be verified by checking GPS records. Have GPS records been checked?
Was Ptlm. Domanowski on duty that day?
Did Domanowski sit for the upcoming sergeants test and feel pressured into silence about what he allegedly witnessed?
Why did Det. Lt. Leonard Lugo approve his own accident report when the report is typically approved by the traffic bureau supervisor?
Who asked JMCE to approve the investigation report a month later?
Why was an investigation report filed a month after the actual accident?
All off these questions can be asked of everyone except the police chief, under the Attorney General guidelines.
Under the rules of the Attorney General the municipality cannot do anything against the accused while he is being investigated. This means they cannot conduct their own investigation.
It does not mean they cannot file a complaint against him for local violations.
Under the rules of the Police & Fireman’s Retirement System, a policeman may not retire if he is under investigation or has pending charges. If the town does not file a complaint against Wayman, Lugo, or anybody else, there will be a period between the end of the UCPO investigation and the time when the town would bring charges.
That window of opportunity would allow officers to seek retirement during a moment when they are not under investigation or charges.
It is incomprehensible that the UCPO cannot come to some conclusion about the specific charge surrounding the phony reports and that the government of Westfield cannot obtain a statement from the UCPO about those specific charges.
Were talking about a prosecutorship that took 17 months to come up with some conclusion allowing the Mountainside government to negotiate the retirement of the chief and the alleged disciplining of other officers. This concerned matters of which there was video evidence.
One must wonder why the Town of Westfield does not look at the track record of the UCPO made in Mountainside.
Why hasn’t Wayman or Lugo been suspended pending the outcome of the UCPO investigation?
How can Wayman or Lugo, two superior officers of the WPD, continue to be in charge when their actions surrounding an alleged hit and run are being questioned?
While the rules say that the complaining municipality can’t do anything while the UCPO investigates, one must wonder at the speed with which Mountainside negotiated the retirement of its chief and the leveling of charges against others.
It is especially interesting when you consider that the Mountainside chief is in the damaging video with “Big Blue” laughing with others.
How could that prosecutorship come up with no finding?
Westfield should look to Mountainside as an example of a government allowing it’s police chief on video playing with “Big Blue” to retire without disciplinary action. What does this say about the government? What does this teach the remaining police about honesty and integrity in government?
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