Facebook Page Supports Cops Suspended Due to Military Service

Bloomfield residents are rallying around the two Bloomfield police officers suspended over their military service. 

Just a week after the press conference where Patrol officers Michael McCracken and Hector Cartagena went public about how their military leave putting their police jobs in jeopardy, more than 1,500 Bloomfield residents have liked the Facebook page I Stand for War Veterans.

McCracken and Cartagena are accused of and falsely claiming time taken off from their police jobs as time spent serving in the military. 

Both officers are reservists who served in the Iraq War. McCracken is a former Marine and current member of the Air Force Reserves. Cartagena served in the Army before joining the Air Force Reserves. McCracken is a 16-year veteran of the Bloomfield police department and Cartagena has been on the force for eight years.

The officers have been suspended without pay since Dec. 4 in advance of hearings about their jobs.

The Facebook page collects media reports about McCracken and Cartagena and provides contact information for residents to contact the governor about the charges against the governor. In addition, the organizers are coordinating phone calls through the page.