Police Suspension for Military Service Unfair, Bloomfield Officers Say

The two Bloomfield police officers suspended over their military service characterized the department’s actions as unfair during a press conference Friday at the State’s Fraternal Brotherhood of Police headquarters in Newark.

Patrol officers Michael McCracken and Hector Cartagena are accused of taking time off from their police jobs and falsely claiming it as time spent serving in the military. 

The officers, their attorney Catherine Elston and supporters noted that three other military veterans had been dismissed from the department for similar reasons.

Both McCracken and Cartagena 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, Elston said.

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

The time period in question occurred in 2008 and 2009 and involves both their overseas deployment and weekend training, Elston said. She said at that time, Bloomfield did not have a policy concerning military absences. Elston said a policy was later put in place and is now being retroactively applied.

During the press presentation, Elston said she had audio recordings of Bloomfield police investigators saying they didn’t have a set policy in place.

McCracken said the Essex County Prosecutor's office had investigated their military leave claims earlier this year and did not find credible evidence that they had falsified their claims of military time. 

“I thought that was it,” McCracken said.

McCracken said the local PBA had not spoken with them.

Fifteen days were disputed for McCracken and 29 were disputed for Cartagena, with the days in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Elston said the time being scrutinized included a period when Caragena was receiving medical treatment for a wound sustained in combat.

New Jersey State Sen. Ronald Rice, who represents Bloomfield, said he had a special interest in the matter as a former Marine and a retired cop. He said he would contact the state's Attorney General about the charges against the officers.

New Jersey does not have a state guideline for how police departments should handle officers who are in the military; each municipality sets its own policy. Bloomfield FOP representative Anthony Argento said veterans are protected under state discrimination.

“Every public and private employer in America has to deal with this,” Bloomfield FOP representative Anthony Argento said.