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POLICE TRANSPARENCY NJInternal Affairs & Discipline Records

Department profile · Cape May County

Cape May County Sheriffs Office

Reported as: Cape May Co Sheriffs OfficeCounty sheriff

Jurisdiction context

Civil service jurisdiction

Discipline at this department is governed by the Title 4A civil service framework, matched to Cape May County on the New Jersey Civil Service Commission roster.

Read how the process works or the Title 4A glossary. Browse NJCSNavigator’s civil service jurisdiction directory for the full local-jurisdiction roster.

Reflects the NJCSC Appendix A roster as of 2026-07-04. Context only, not legal advice.

Sworn officers, 2025

22[1]

IA investigations, 2025

31[1]

Incidents, 2025

26[1]

Major discipline records

21

All years, 2020-2025

Internal affairs investigations by year

25202146202231202312024312025
Internal affairs investigations reported by Cape May County Sheriffs Office, by year
Internal affairs investigations reported by Cape May County Sheriffs Office, by year
20212022202320242025
254631131

As reported to the Attorney General.[2][3][4][5][6]

Complaint mix, 2025

Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 31 investigations, 23 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 31 officers involved.[7]

Most serious allegation

Most serious allegations reported by Cape May Co Sheriffs Office, 2025
Most serious allegations reported by Cape May Co Sheriffs Office, 2025
Neglect of Duty10
Conduct Unbecoming/Discredit To The Agency8
Attendance Issues6
Demeanor2
Improper Arrest2
Other Departmental Rule Violation2
Insubordination/Disobeying An Order1
AdministrativeConduct / dutyRights / integrityViolence / criminal

Internal disposition

Internal dispositions reported by Cape May Co Sheriffs Office, 2025
Internal dispositions reported by Cape May Co Sheriffs Office, 2025
Sustained23
Administratively Closed3
Exonerated3
Unfounded2

Against peers, 2025

AnalysisComputed by this site from reported totals; not an official statistic.
CAPE MAY CO SHERIFFS OFFICE140.9COUNTY MEDIAN, COUNTY SHERIFF (1)140.9NJ MEDIAN, COUNTY SHERIFF (20)115.2
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Cape May Co Sheriffs Office140.9
County median, county sheriff (1)140.9
NJ median, county sheriff (20)115.2

Investigations per 100 sworn officers, using the officer counts each agency reported for 2025. A higher number is ambiguous on its own: it can reflect more misconduct, or a stronger internal reporting culture. Medians are computed within the same agency type only.

View the report card

Major discipline records

Major discipline records reported by Cape May County Sheriffs Office, 2020-2025
YearOfficerRankSanction as reportedSrc
2025Khoury CauseyCorrectional Police OfficerSuspended 6 days[8]
2025Erin McPhersonCorrectional Police OfficerSuspended (days not reported)[9]
2025Robert O'DonnellCorrectional Police OfficerTerminatedSeparated while IA pending[10]
2025Joseph WillCorrectional Police OfficerSuspended 9 days[11]
2024Emily DescalaSheriff's OfficerSeparated while IA pending[12]
2024Jonathan PerezCorrectional Police OfficerTerminated[13]
2024Ivan AdduSheriff's OfficerSuspended 12 days[14]
2023William NielsenSergeantSuspended 45 days[15]
2023Tyler DunneOfficerSuspended 91 days[16]
2023Douglas SitemanOfficerDemotedSuspended 130 days[17]
2023Erick WomackOfficerSuspended 5 days[18]
2022Robert LeiningerSergeantSuspended 15 days[19]
2022Robert LeiningerSergeantSuspended 8 days[20]
2021Christine CaldwellOfficerDemotedSuspended 30 days[21]
2021Scott HarrisOfficerSuspended 5 days[22]
2021David DouglassOfficerSuspended 30 days[23]
2021Scott HarrisOfficerSuspended 91 days[24]
2021David DouglassOfficerSuspended 130 days[25]
2021Robert LeiningerSergeantSuspended 22 days[26]
2021Thomas RucciSergeantSuspended 24 days[27]
2020Gary ErdmannOfficerSuspended 10 days[28]

Every name links to the officer's record page with the agency's full synopsis and citation.

Questions and answers

How many internal affairs investigations did Cape May County Sheriffs Office report in 2025?
Cape May County Sheriffs Office reported 31 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 22 sworn officers that year.
How many major discipline records does Cape May County Sheriffs Office have?
Cape May County Sheriffs Office has 21 major discipline records in the Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, of which 2 were terminations. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.

Sources

  1. [1]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2194. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  2. [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 163. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  3. [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1178. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  4. [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1689. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  5. [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 669. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  6. [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2194. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  7. [7]New Jersey Internal Affairs Investigations, 2024-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. Aggregated from every Cape May Co Sheriffs Office row for 2025; row 1 is the header. ↩
  8. [8]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 260. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  9. [9]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 261. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  10. [10]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 262. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  11. [11]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 263. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  12. [12]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1029. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  13. [13]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1030. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  14. [14]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1031. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  15. [15]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1616. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  16. [16]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1617. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  17. [17]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1618. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  18. [18]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1619. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  19. [19]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2130. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  20. [20]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2131. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  21. [21]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2501. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  22. [22]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2502. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  23. [23]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2503. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  24. [24]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2504. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  25. [25]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2505. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  26. [26]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2506. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  27. [27]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2507. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  28. [28]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2822. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩