The Department of Corrections suspended Senior Correctional Police Officer Robert Merlino for 45 days in 2024. On July 21, 2023, Merlino was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with another officer, using his arm to push away the other officer's arm. Several staff members had to intervene to de-escalate the situation. The sustained charges included fighting or creating a disturbance on state property and conduct unbecoming an employee.
N.J.A.C. 4A: 2-2.3(a) 6. an employee N.J.A.C. 4A: 2-2.3(a) 12. . C7: Fighting or creating a disturbance on state property. C11: an employee. D7: Violation of administrative procedures and/or regulations involving safety and security. E1: Violations of a rule
regulation
policy
procedure
order or administrative decision.
Separated while IA pending
No
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On July 21, 2023, Officer Merlino was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with another officer. Specifically, the Officer engaged in an intense verbal exchange with another Officer and used his arm to push away the arm of the other Officer. Several staff members had to intervene to de-escalate the situation.
Sustained charge(s): N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a)(6) Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee. N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a)(12) Other Sufficient Cause. C7: Fighting or creating a…
same agency · same year · similar sanction outcome
Sustained charge(s): N.J.A.C. 4A: 2-2.3(a) 12. Other sufficient cause. A9: Refusal or failure to work overtime without a reasonable excuse. E1: Violations of a…
same agency · same year · similar sanction outcome
Other officers at Department Of Corrections
433 other named officers with reported major discipline records at this agency. Major discipline is final and post-appeal, as reported by the agency.
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.
Cite this page
Police Transparency NJ, "Robert Merlino, Department Of Corrections," last updated 2026-09-28, https://policetransparencynj.com/officers/robert-merlino-dept-of-corrections/. Source records: New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.
Questions and answers
What is a summary of Robert Merlino's major discipline record?
The Department of Corrections suspended Senior Correctional Police Officer Robert Merlino for 45 days in 2024. On July 21, 2023, Merlino was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with another officer, using his arm to push away the other officer's arm. Several staff members had to intervene to de-escalate the situation. The sustained charges included fighting or creating a disturbance on state property and conduct unbecoming an employee.
What is Robert Merlino's major discipline record at Department Of Corrections?
Robert Merlino has one major discipline record at Department Of Corrections in the New Jersey Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, from 2024. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
How large is Department Of Corrections, the department Robert Merlino worked for?
Department Of Corrections reported 4,741 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025. This is department-level context from the FBI's Law Enforcement Employees census, not a statement about Robert Merlino individually.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1363. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[2]FBI Law Enforcement Employees (LEE), New Jersey subset. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Row 8641. Derived from the public Law Enforcement Employees (LEE) / Police Employee Data dataset (1960-2025), https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/. ↩