, Police Officer Duties, Performance of Duty, Work Expectations, Prohibited Activity on Duty, Discipline Authority
Other sanction
Monetary fine or loss of pay
Separated while IA pending
No
Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
Officer Michael Bender of the Vineland Police Department received a 10-day suspension for neglect of duty and related performance violations. On May 20, 2024, Bender fell asleep during and after his lunch break and remained off radio at his residence for approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes without monitoring radio communications. He also did not respond to a fellow officer's request for assistance. The matter was settled in June 2025, and Bender received a monetary fine or loss of pay.
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On 5-20-2024, Officer M. Bender fell asleep during and after his lunch break. Officer M. Bender was off radio and remained at his residence for approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes, failing to properly monitor radio communications. In addition, Officer M. Bender purposely did not respond to a request for assistance by a fellow officer. Officer Bender received a 10 day suspension. This was settled in June 2025.
Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
A separate record for Officer Michael Bender of the Vineland Police Department documents a 5-day suspension for insubordination. On May 1, 2024, Bender was assigned to a proactive detail in center city on which officers took turns as lead investigator. When it was Bender's turn, he refused and defied his supervisor's orders. The matter was settled in June 2025, and he received a monetary fine or loss of pay.
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On 5-1-2024, Officer M. Bender, was assigned to a proactive detail in center city to deter crime and apprehend law violators. Each officer working the detail would take turns to be the lead investigator. When it was Officer M. Bender's turn, he purposely and knowingly refused and defied his supervisor's orders. Officer M. Bender received a 5 day suspension. This was settled in June 2025.
, Police Officer Duties, Performance of Duty, Work Expectations, Prohibited Activity on Duty, Discipline Authority
Other sanction
Monetary fine or loss of pay
Separated while IA pending
No
Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
A third record for Officer Michael Bender of the Vineland Police Department documents a 15-day suspension for neglect of duty and related performance violations. On May 10, 2024, Bender dispatched himself as a backup officer to an active restraining order violation call but did not begin responding until 8 minutes later. After being instructed to go home, he disregarded the direct order and showed up at the scene. The matter was settled in June 2025, and he received a monetary fine or loss of pay.
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On 5-10-2024, Officer M. Bender dispatched himself as a backup officer to an active violation of a restraining order call. Officer M. Bender did not begin responding to the call until 8 minutes later. Officer M. Bender showed zero sense of urgency or concern with providing back up in a timely manner. Officer M. Bender was then instructed to go home. He disregarded his direct order and showed up the scene anyway. Officer M. Bender received a 15 day suspension. This was settled in June 2025.
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.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 273. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[2]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 274. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[3]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 275. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[4]YourMoney Active Pension Members (PFRS/SPRS subset). New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Row 223484, snapshot as of March 31, 2026. Derived from the public YourMoney Active Pension Members dataset, https://www.yourmoney.nj.gov/. ↩