Skip to content
POLICE TRANSPARENCY NJInternal Affairs & Discipline Records

Department profile · Ocean County

Lakewood Police Department

Reported as: Lakewood PDMunicipal police

Jurisdiction context

Civil service jurisdiction

Discipline at this department is governed by the Title 4A civil service framework, matched to Lakewood Township 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.

In brief

Based in Ocean County, the Lakewood Police Department is a municipal police agency. It reported 47 sworn officers in 2025 and 68 internal affairs investigations that year. Its rate of 144.7 investigations per 100 officers was above the 125.6 median for municipal police. Of the 68 investigations detailed for 2025, 32 reported sustained complaints. The most common allegation was Other Departmental Rule Violation, followed by Demeanor and Neglect of Duty.

Across the 2020-2025 releases the department had 9 major discipline records, of which 1 was a termination. On the report card it received a grade of C, which puts it at the 49th percentile of its peer group of 38 agencies in the 30-59 officers band. A higher volume of internal affairs activity can reflect more misconduct or a stronger reporting culture.

Written by this site strictly from the figures on this page; every number is cited below.

Sworn officers, 2025

47[1]

IA investigations, 2025

68[1]

Incidents, 2025

51[1]

Major discipline records

9

All years, 2020-2025

Internal affairs investigations by year

172021342022552023412024682025
Internal affairs investigations reported by Lakewood Police Department, by year
Internal affairs investigations reported by Lakewood Police Department, by year
20212022202320242025
1734554168

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 68 investigations, 32 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 65 officers involved.[7]

Most serious allegation

Most serious allegations reported by Lakewood PD, 2025
Most serious allegations reported by Lakewood PD, 2025
Other Departmental Rule Violation23
Demeanor12
Neglect of Duty6
Attendance Issues6
Other Criminal Violation6
Excessive Force4
Preventable MV Accident3
Vehicular Pursuit Policy Violation2
AdministrativeConduct / dutyRights / integrityViolence / criminal

Internal disposition

Internal dispositions reported by Lakewood PD, 2025
Internal dispositions reported by Lakewood PD, 2025
Sustained30
Unfounded12
Not Sustained12
Exonerated8
not provided6

Against peers, 2025

AnalysisComputed by this site from reported totals; not an official statistic.
LAKEWOOD PD144.7COUNTY MEDIAN, MUNICIPAL POLICE (29)100.0NJ MEDIAN, MUNICIPAL POLICE (447)125.6
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Lakewood PD144.7
County median, municipal police (29)100.0
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.

View the report card

Major discipline records

Major discipline records reported by Lakewood Police Department, 2020-2025
YearOfficerRankSanction as reportedSrc
2025Joseph MandelbaumPatrolmanSuspended 6 days[8]
2025John PannonePatrolmanSuspended 10 days[9]
2025Marc RodriguezPatrolmanSuspended 10 days[10]
2024Justin BurkhardtOfficerSeparated while IA pending[11]
2024Joseph RuskOfficerTerminated[12]
2023Dawry DeSanglesOfficerSuspended 6 days[13]
2023Louis Vadino IIIOfficerSuspended 9 days[14]
2023Dawry DeSanglesOfficerSuspended 6 days[15]
2021Gregory MeyerChiefSuspended 6 days[16]

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 Lakewood Police Department report in 2025?
Lakewood Police Department reported 68 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 47 sworn officers that year.
How many major discipline records does Lakewood Police Department have?
Lakewood Police Department has 9 major discipline records in the Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, of which 1 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 2423. 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 387. 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 1406. 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 1912. 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 889. 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 2423. 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 Lakewood PD 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 497. 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 498. 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 499. 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 1229. 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 1230. 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 1838. 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 1839. 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 1840. 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 2642. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩