Plain-language summary (this site, from the cited record only)
While on duty at the Bergen County Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, Correctional Police Officer Richard Kirk used excessive force on an inmate being placed in a restraint chair. While the inmate was restrained in handcuffs and on the ground, Kirk struck him in the head by kicking him. The Bergen County Sheriffs Office suspended Kirk for 15 days in 2025.
(a) 1 - , or Failure to Perform Duties (a) 6 - a Public Employee (a) 7 - (a) 12 - Use of Force Obedience to Laws and Rules and Regulations Standards of Conduct Performance of Duty Unbecoming Conduct Prohibited Activity on Duty
Separated while IA pending
No
Synopsis as reported by the agency
Correctional Police Officer, Richard Kirk, while on duty at the Bergen County Correctional and Rehabilitation Center (BCCRC) utilized excessive force on an inmate being placed in a restraint chair. While the inmate was restrained in handcuffs, on the ground, Officer Kirk struck him in the head by kicking him.
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.
Similar records
AnalysisComputed by this site from shared agency, year, charge category, and sanction outcome. Not a legal or factual equivalence.
Daniel Olmedo · Bergen County Sheriff's Department · 2025
Suspended 124 days
Sustained charge(s): 4A:2-2.3(a) 1 - Incompetency, Inefficiency or Failure to Perform Duties 4A:2-2.3(a) 6 - Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee 4A:2-2.3(a) 7…
same agency · same year · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Everett Bell · Bergen County Sheriff's Department · 2024
Suspended 90 days
Sustained charge(s): 4A:2-2.3(a) 1 – Incompetency, Inefficiency or Failure to Perform Duties N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a) 6 - Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Edward Bajzath · Bergen County Sheriff's Department · 2024
Suspended 10 days
Sustained charge(s): 4A:2-2.3(a) 1 – Incompetency, Inefficiency or Failure to Perform Duties 4A:2-2.3(a) 7 – Neglect of Duty 4A:2-2.3(a) 11 – Other Sufficient…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Joseph Widovic · Bergen County Sheriff's Department · 2024
Suspended 124 days
Sustained charge(s): 4A:2-2.3(a) 1 – Incompetency, Inefficiency or Failure to Perform Duties N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a) 6 - Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Sustained charge(s): 4A:2-2.3(a) 1 – Incompetency, Inefficiency or Failure to Perform Duties 4A:2-2.3(a) 3 – Inability to Perform Duties 4A:2-2.3(a) 7 – Neglect…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Questions and answers
What is a summary of Richard Kirk's major discipline record?
While on duty at the Bergen County Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, Correctional Police Officer Richard Kirk used excessive force on an inmate being placed in a restraint chair. While the inmate was restrained in handcuffs and on the ground, Kirk struck him in the head by kicking him. The Bergen County Sheriffs Office suspended Kirk for 15 days in 2025.
What is Richard Kirk's major discipline record at Bergen County Sheriff's Department?
Richard Kirk has one major discipline record at Bergen County Sheriff's Department in the New Jersey Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, from 2025. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
Does Richard Kirk's record show a termination?
The major discipline records shown here do not report a termination for Richard Kirk at Bergen County Sheriff's Department.
How does Bergen County Sheriff's Department score on this site's report card?
This site's report card places Bergen County Sheriff's Department in the second-highest fifth of its peer group on reported internal affairs volume and discipline severity. The grade is analysis by this site, not an official rating, and it describes the department, not Richard Kirk individually.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 62. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩