On Jan. 14, 2014, Rockaway Township police officer, Clifton Gauthier, was suspended, with pay, and charged, in a disciplinary proceeding, with interfering with the prosecution of a family member charged with driving while intoxicated. On Sept. 11, 2014, defendant was indicted for second degree official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2, and third degree tampering with a witness, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-5(a). On Sept. 12, 2014, defendant was suspended, without pay, pending the disposition of the criminal charges. The second degree charge was dismissed on June 6, 2016, when defendant was admitted into the pretrial intervention program (PTI), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12 to 22, which permits a defendant to be placed on court supervised probation.

On Jan. 23, 2017, upon his successful completion of PTI, the indictment was dismissed. Defendant was re-instated to his job and received back pay from his PTI completion date, Jan. 23, 2017, to his reinstatement date of March 8, 2017. However, defendant’s request for back pay for the period of time that his criminal charges were pending, from Sept. 12, 2014, to Jan. 23, 2017, was denied by the Civil Service Commission.