Department profile · Mercer County
Lawrence Township Police Department
Reported as: Lawrence Twp PDMunicipal police
Jurisdiction context
Civil service jurisdiction
Discipline at this department is governed by the Title 4A civil service framework, matched to Lawrence 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
In Mercer County, the Lawrence Township Police Department is a municipal police agency that reported 32 sworn officers in 2025. It logged 47 internal affairs investigations that year, a rate of 146.9 per 100 officers, above the 125.6 median for municipal police. Of the 47 investigations detailed for 2025, 19 reported sustained complaints. The most common allegation was Demeanor, followed by Other Departmental Rule Violation and Vehicular Pursuit Policy Violation.
Across the 2020-2025 releases the department had 4 major discipline records, of which 2 were terminations. On the report card it received a grade of F, which puts it at the 83rd 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
32[1]
IA investigations, 2025
47[1]
Incidents, 2025
39[1]
Major discipline records
4
All years, 2020-2025
Internal affairs investigations by year
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 41 | 52 | 45 | 47 |
Complaint mix, 2025
Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 47 investigations, 19 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 47 officers involved.[7]
Most serious allegation
| Demeanor | 16 |
|---|---|
| Other Departmental Rule Violation | 9 |
| Vehicular Pursuit Policy Violation | 6 |
| Preventable MV Accident | 4 |
| Differential Treatment | 3 |
| Other Criminal Violation | 2 |
| Improper Entry | 2 |
| BWC/MVR Violation | 1 |
Internal disposition
| Sustained | 19 |
|---|---|
| Exonerated | 15 |
| not provided | 8 |
| Unfounded | 4 |
| Not Sustained | 1 |
Against peers, 2025
| Lawrence Twp PD | 146.9 |
|---|---|
| County median, municipal police (13) | 133.3 |
| 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 | Hector Nieves | Patrolman | Terminated | [8] |
| 2024 | Shareef Hardin | Police Officer | Suspended 6 days | [9] |
| 2023 | Timothy Wallace | Officer | TerminatedSuspended 84 days | [10] |
| 2023 | Joseph Closson | Officer | Separated while IA pending | [11] |
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 Lawrence Township Police Department report in 2025?
- Lawrence Township Police Department reported 47 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 32 sworn officers that year.
- How many major discipline records does Lawrence Township Police Department have?
- Lawrence Township Police Department has 4 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]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2293. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 261. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1278. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1781. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 765. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2293. 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 Lawrence Twp 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 418. 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 1145. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [10]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1753. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [11]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1754. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩