Department profile · Essex County
Fairfield Police Department
Reported as: Fairfield PDMunicipal police
Jurisdiction context
Not a civil service jurisdiction
This department is not among the NJCSC Appendix A jurisdictions, so major discipline here follows a different statutory track (generally N.J.S.A. 40A:14), with appeals that usually go to the Superior Court rather than the Civil Service Commission.
See the context on non-civil-service departments.
Reflects the NJCSC Appendix A roster as of 2026-07-04. Context only, not legal advice.
In brief
The Fairfield Police Department is a municipal police agency in Essex County. It reported 27 sworn officers in 2025 and opened 51 internal affairs investigations during the year. At 188.9 investigations per 100 officers, its rate ran above the 125.6 median for municipal agencies. Of the 51 investigations detailed for 2025, 10 reported a sustained complaint. Demeanor and Other Departmental Rule Violation were the most common allegation categories.
Two major discipline records appear in the 2020 through 2025 releases, with no terminations among them. On the report card the department received a D, which means the 63rd percentile of its peer group of 61 departments with 15 to 29 officers. Higher internal affairs volume can signal either more misconduct or a stronger culture of reporting.
Written by this site strictly from the figures on this page; every number is cited below.
Sworn officers, 2025
27[1]
IA investigations, 2025
51[1]
Incidents, 2025
43[1]
Major discipline records
2
All years, 2020-2025
Internal affairs investigations by year
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 29 | 19 | 24 | 51 |
Complaint mix, 2025
Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 51 investigations, 10 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 50 officers involved.[7]
Most serious allegation
| Demeanor | 14 |
|---|---|
| Other Departmental Rule Violation | 13 |
| Vehicular Pursuit Policy Violation | 4 |
| Improper Arrest | 4 |
| Insubordination/Disobeying An Order | 3 |
| Preventable MV Accident | 2 |
| not provided | 2 |
| Improper Search | 2 |
Internal disposition
| not provided | 25 |
|---|---|
| Sustained | 10 |
| Exonerated | 5 |
| Not Sustained | 4 |
| Unfounded | 4 |
| Administratively Closed | 3 |
Against peers, 2025
| Fairfield PD | 188.9 |
|---|---|
| County median, municipal police (22) | 158.6 |
| NJ median, municipal police (447) | 125.6 |
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.
Major discipline records
| Year | Officer | Rank | Sanction as reported | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Steven D'Argenio | Corporal | Suspended 60 days | [8] |
| 2020 | Christopher Niemiec | Sergeant | Suspended 20 days | [9] |
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 Fairfield Police Department report in 2025?
- Fairfield Police Department reported 51 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 27 sworn officers that year.
- How many major discipline records does Fairfield Police Department have?
- Fairfield Police Department has 2 major discipline records in the Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, of which 0 were terminations. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
Sources
- [1]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2218. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 187. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1202. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1710. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 694. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2218. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [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 Fairfield PD row for 2025; row 1 is the header. ↩
- [8]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 308. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [9]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2834. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩