Westfield Police Chief: Retired or Resigned

News agencies have repeatedly reported that Westfield Police Chief David Wayman “retired” effective immediately on August 1, 2018 citing Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle’s comment “after consultation with the Union County Prosecutor’s office and town’s labor counsel.”

The ambiguity of the word “retired” is being questioned.

Westfield police officers are granted “terminal leave” at the end of their career when they plan to retire.  Terminal leave is the time an employee is paid without coming into work in the weeks leading up to their respective retirement date.  Officers can also use accrued vacation time to lengthen their time out of work while still being paid, remaining “on the books”.....on the payroll.

A source not authorized to speak on behalf of the police department has confirmed that Wayman used approximately 10 days of accrued comp time between the last days of June and the end of July, during the weeks leading up to his “effective immediately”..... “retirement” date of August 1, 2018.

Did Wayman “retire” or did he resign?

In order to collect a pension from the New Jersey Police and Fireman’s Pension System (PFRS) an officer must submit an application for pension benefits which has to be signed by the town.  The officer must be in good standing, free of any investigations, departmental charges, etc.

If we are to believe that Wayman “retired,” does this mean that the town signed off on Wayman’s pension benefits application?

At a Westfield town council meeting in July, it was confirmed that an investigation was being conducted by the Union County Prosecutor’s office regarding the police department and possibly Wayman’s involvement in a “hit & run” accident.

Did Westfield officials sign off on Wayman’s pension benefits application citing no investigation was underway?  Was the investigation completed and did it uncover any other alleged misconduct such as the misappropriation of funds within the police department?

Did Westfield town officials broker a back-door exit with Wayman to avoid the publicity of a corrupt police chief resigning under a cloud of controversy?  Again, has Westfield signed off on Wayman’s retirement application?

What we do know is that town officials will not publicly state the reason for Wayman’s immediate departure because of laws protecting personnel and employment matters.

We also know that “retirement” means Wayman can apply for pension benefits and begin collecting a monthly pension check totaling more than $9800.00 per month based on a reported $168,000 salary.
Wayman was hired in February 1988 and has over 30 years accumulated in the PFRS.  He is eligible to retire at 70% of his last years salary.

It’s too early to determine whether or not Wayman is collecting a retirement paycheck but it’s also unknown if he is still under investigation by the UCPO.

Public employee records at Asbury Park Press Data Universe
https://php.app.com/agent/


So, has Wayman “retired” or has he “resigned?”