Department profile · Essex County
South Orange Police Department
Reported as: South Orange PDMunicipal police
Jurisdiction context
Civil service jurisdiction
Discipline at this department is governed by the Title 4A civil service framework, matched to South Orange Village 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
The South Orange Police Department is a municipal police agency in Essex County. It reported 19 sworn officers in 2025 and opened 35 internal affairs investigations that year. Its rate of 184.2 investigations per 100 officers was above the 125.6 median for municipal police. Of the 35 investigations detailed for 2025, 10 ended in sustained findings. Other Departmental Rule Violation and Demeanor were the leading allegations.
Four major discipline records appear in the 2020 through 2025 releases, none of them terminations. On the site's report card the department received an F, placing it in the 84th percentile of its peer group of 61 agencies with 15 to 29 officers. A higher volume of internal affairs activity can reflect either 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
19[1]
IA investigations, 2025
35[1]
Incidents, 2025
35[1]
Major discipline records
4
All years, 2020-2025
Internal affairs investigations by year
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 41 | 44 | 40 | 35 |
Complaint mix, 2025
Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 35 investigations, 10 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 35 officers involved.[7]
Most serious allegation
| Other Departmental Rule Violation | 10 |
|---|---|
| Demeanor | 7 |
| Differential Treatment | 5 |
| Insubordination/Disobeying An Order | 4 |
| not provided | 3 |
| Conduct Unbecoming/Discredit To The Agency | 2 |
| Domestic violence (Non-Criminal) | 1 |
| Preventable MV Accident | 1 |
Internal disposition
| Unfounded | 13 |
|---|---|
| Sustained | 10 |
| Not Sustained | 7 |
| Exonerated | 3 |
| not provided | 2 |
Against peers, 2025
| South Orange PD | 184.2 |
|---|---|
| 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 | Matthew Dsurney | Officer | Suspended 5 days | [8] |
| 2024 | Matthew Dsurney | Officer | Suspended 4 days | [9] |
| 2021 | Michael Cucciniello | Sergeant | DemotedSuspended 60 days | [10] |
| 2021 | Darrell Terry | Officer | Suspended 8 days | [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 South Orange Police Department report in 2025?
- South Orange Police Department reported 35 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 19 sworn officers that year.
- How many major discipline records does South Orange Police Department have?
- South Orange Police Department has 4 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 2230. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 201. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1215. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1724. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 707. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2230. 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 South Orange 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 339. 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 1083. 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 2558. 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 2559. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩