On April 24, 2025, at approximately 0130 hours, Patrolman Litchfield was assigned to a road detail post in Sparta Township when a supervising sergeant observed him asleep in the driver's seat of his patrol vehicle, according to the Sparta Police Department. During the internal affairs interview, Litchfield admitted to falling asleep while on duty and accepted responsibility. He received a 20-day suspension without pay on sustained charges that included neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming a public employee.
CHARGES: N.J.A.C. 4A:2‐2.3(a)(1) – , or failure to perform duties N.J.A.C. 4A:2‐2.3(a)(6) – a public employee N.J.A.C. 4A:2‐ 2.3(a)(7) – N.J.A.C. 4A:2‐2.3(a)(12) – – Violation of Sparta Township Departmental Rules and Regulations: 3:7.14 (1) Prohibited Activities on Duty 1:4.17 1:4.11 Incompetence 3:1.5 Performance of duty 3:7.5 Work expectation Extra Duty Employment- VII D. (Officer must remain outside of their vehicles on road details)
Other sanction
Loss of time
Separated while IA pending
No
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On April 24, 2025, at approximately 0130 hours, Patrolman Matthew Litchfield (#258) was assigned to a road detail post on Glen Road in Sparta Township. During a supervisory check, A Sparta Police Sergeant observed Ptl. Litchfield asleep in the driver’s seat of his patrol vehicle, failing to comply with departmental policy requiring officers to remain outside their vehicles while on detail and negligence of duty. Complaint Details: The complaint was formally submitted by the above Sergeant through Guardian Tracking on April 24, 2025, and was received by Internal Affairs on April 25, 2025. The allegation involved Ptl. Litchfield being asleep while on duty, a violation of departmental rules and regulations and a significant safety risk given the active construction scene he was tasked to monitor. Investigative Findings: • The above Sergeant provided a detailed account confirming that Ptl. Litchfield was unresponsive in the patrol car and required multiple attempts to awaken. • During the internal affairs interview, Ptl. Litchfield admitted to falling asleep while on duty, accepted full responsibility for his actions, and acknowledged that his conduct posed a safety risk and violated policy. • No contradictory evidence was presented, and the facts are supported both by the supervisor’s direct observation and the officer’s own admission. Conclusion: The Internal Affairs investigation has concluded with a Sustained finding. Based on a preponderance of the evidence, including the subject officer’s admission and corroborating witness testimony, the allegation that Ptl. Matthew Litchfield was asleep while on duty is supported and confirmed. Discipline: In consideration of the nature and seriousness of the misconduct, including the safety implications associated with sleeping during an active road detail, disciplinary action is warranted. A twenty-day suspension without pay was imposed. This discipline is consistent with agency standards and prior precedent for similar infractions and is intended to correct behavior and reinforce department expectations regarding alertness, presence, and public safety responsibilities while on duty.
Similar records
AnalysisComputed by this site from shared agency, year, charge category, and sanction outcome. Not a legal or factual equivalence.
The amount is as reported by the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in its YourMoney pension data, as of March 31, 2026. It is the pension-basis figure and may not include overtime, accrued leave, stipends, or other pay. The link between this officer and this pension record is a records-based match at high confidence (exact name and exact employing agency), not a certified identity. If it is wrong, we will remove it: corrections.
Questions and answers
What is a summary of Matthew Litchfield's major discipline record?
On April 24, 2025, at approximately 0130 hours, Patrolman Litchfield was assigned to a road detail post in Sparta Township when a supervising sergeant observed him asleep in the driver's seat of his patrol vehicle, according to the Sparta Police Department. During the internal affairs interview, Litchfield admitted to falling asleep while on duty and accepted responsibility. He received a 20-day suspension without pay on sustained charges that included neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming a public employee.
What is Matthew Litchfield's major discipline record at Sparta Police Department?
Matthew Litchfield has one major discipline record at Sparta Police Department in the New Jersey Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, from 2025. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
What is Matthew Litchfield's base salary on record?
Matthew Litchfield's reported base salary is $76,272, from New Jersey Treasury YourMoney data, matched to this officer at high confidence. Matthew Litchfield has 3 years, 5 months of reported service.
How large is Sparta Police Department, the department Matthew Litchfield worked for?
Sparta Police Department reported 37 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025. This is department-level context from the FBI's Law Enforcement Employees census, not a statement about Matthew Litchfield individually.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 795. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[2]YourMoney Active Pension Members (PFRS/SPRS subset). New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Row 236969, snapshot as of March 31, 2026. Derived from the public YourMoney Active Pension Members dataset, https://www.yourmoney.nj.gov/. ↩
[3]FBI Law Enforcement Employees (LEE), New Jersey subset. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Row 8596. Derived from the public Law Enforcement Employees (LEE) / Police Employee Data dataset (1960-2025), https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/. ↩