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Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida, in plainclothes, and Sgt. William Major, see in police body camera footage on Nov. 9, 2023. (Screenshots from the body camera footage via TAPinto Asbury Park/YouTube)
A police chief in New Jersey was slammed onto the hood of a car by one of his sergeants after the sergeant accused the chief of showing up “drunk again” and interfering with a DWI crash investigation to ask him about his jacket with lettering “not fit to be worn.”
Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida appeared at a crash scene on Main Street on the night of Nov. 9. Police body camera video shows 7 minutes of the confrontation that evening between him and Sgt. William Major.
“What’s on the back of it?” the chief asks.
“What do you mean?” Sgt. William Major says.
“Tell me what’s on the back of it.”
“It washed off.”
“Yeah, then get rid of it.”
“OK,” the sergeant says as he appears to take the jacket off and tosses it into a squad car while walking back to the crash investigation.
“That’s ridiculous. You’re a sergeant, for God’s sake,” the chief says.
“OK, chief, let me work this DWI,” the sergeant says as he takes the jacket off and tosses it into a squad car.
As the sergeant walks back to the crime scene, the chief tells him several times to come back.
“Chief, I’m on a DWI,” the sergeant repeats.
The chief follows the sergeant, telling him to come back.
“Chief, I am on a DWI. I am working. I don’t have time to argue about a jacket.”
The sergeant slams the chief onto the hood of a car.
“Don’t you f—— touch me,” one of them says.
“What the f— is wrong with you?” can be heard.
“You grabbed me. Now get out of here.” the sergeant says.
“Take him in,” the chief says to another officer.
“No, you’re going to go in,” Major can be heard saying before picking up keys from the ground and saying, “drunk again.”
TAPinto Asbury Park, which first obtained the video, reported Guida declined to comment.
In a statement, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said it forwarded its findings in the case to the Borough of Bradley Beach for review.
“We fully expect that the actions we have taken, and the additional actions pending in Bradley Beach, will collectively remedy this issue.” the statement said.
Bradley Beach Mayor Larry Fox said in a statement he would provide an update next week, the Asbury Park Press reported.
“I am confident we will have closure shortly,” Fox said, the paper reported.
Meanwhile, a petition demanding Guida’s termination has been gathering signatures on MoveOn, saying his continued presence on the job is detrimental to the force and the community’s well-being and trust.
“As taxpayers and residents of Bradley Beach, NJ, we find ourselves in a situation that is both concerning and unacceptable,” the page said.
