Essex County Detective Accused Of Lying About GPS Device: NJAG – Bloomfield, NJ Patch

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A suspended detective in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is facing criminal charges after he allegedly installed a GPS device on a suspect’s vehicle without the required authorization, then lied to investigators, state prosecutors announced Friday.

Timothy Kealy, 27, of Bloomfield, has been charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution (3rd degree) and tampering with public records or information (3rd degree).

According to a statement from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General:

“The Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) began investigating Kealy in January 2020 after learning that Kealy, who was assigned to the Essex County Narcotics Task Force, had allegedly purchased and installed a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car without formal or legal authority. The ECPO has a process by which detectives must obtain permission from supervisors to apply to a judge for a warrant, and only ECPO-issued GPS devices may be used. A court-issued warrant is required by law for law enforcement to install a GPS device on a vehicle.”

Prosecutors continued:

“Kealy was suspended as a result of the investigation and was ordered by PSB detectives to turn over his service weapon and various other items, including his county-issued phone. In connection with the hindering and tampering charges, it is alleged that Kealy lied about the whereabouts of the county-issued phone, saying it was at a repair shop, in order to prevent PSB detectives from obtaining access to the phone. The phone was not at the repair shop and has not been recovered.”

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