CHARGES: (a)(1) – , or failure to perform duties (a)(6) – a public employee (a)(7) – (a)(12) – – Violation of Essex County Departmental Rules and Regulations: 3:1.2 Competence 3:1.9 Performance of Duty 3:2.1 Prohibited Activities on Duty
Separated while IA pending
not reported
Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
Officer Michael Romero received a 10-day suspension from the Essex County Department of Corrections in 2023. Based on video surveillance from July 6, 2023, an investigator found that at approximately 0504 hours Romero was seated at the Pre-Book desk sleeping. The record states he remained in a continuous state of sleep, with brief moments of awakening, for approximately 34 minutes. Sustained charges included failure to perform duties and conduct unbecoming.
Synopsis as reported by the agency
Based on the Video surveillance from July 6, 2023, an Investigator revealed that at approximately 0504 hours Essex County Police Officer Michael Romero was observed seated at the Pre Book desk sleeping. Officer Romero was observed in a continuous state of sleep with brief moments of awakening and immediately returning to sleep for approximately 34 minutes.
Compensation and pension
No confident pension match found. This site links a pension record to a named officer only when the name and the exact employing agency both match a New Jersey Treasury record. Where that bar is not met, nothing is shown rather than a guess. See methodology for how these matches are made and what is withheld.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1646. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩