Atlantic City Police Officer Franco Sydnor is being sued for excessive force for allegedly beating a Bally's Casino patron in the head with a baton. The federal trial is expected to start in May.


What does it take for a cop in New Jersey to be deemed unfit to remain on the force?

In Atlantic City, at least, stabbing your wife’s ex-lover four times, forcing a woman to have oral sex with you and throwing a handcuffed man into a wishing well isn’t enough.

According to testimony in a federal court hearing this week, Atlantic City police supervisors didn’t think the behavior of veteran police detective Franco Sydnor, which included multiple other complaints, was enough to strip him of his badge.  

More: NJ cop was hired even after stabbing wife's ex-lover 4 times




It is just the latest example of why New Jersey needs to reform the way it addresses rogue cops — and supervisors who look the other way.  The problem, detailed in the recent Asbury Park Press investigation “Protecting the Shield,” has caught the attention of the state’s new attorney general, Gurbir Grewal. 


In an exclusive interview with the Asbury Park Press, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal explained how he addressed incidents that led to $42 million in taxpayer funds being spent to settle allegations of police abuse.

Last month, he issued two directives that should help — random drug testing of officers and requiring police departments to notify the county prosecutor if there are repeated concerns about an officer. Grewal also promised to take additional steps to ensure bad cops are identified, disciplined and, if necessary, removed from the force.  That can’t come soon enough.

The Atlantic City police force appears to merit special attention. Not only was Sydnor hired by the department at age 19 despite his conviction for stabbing a man in the stomach, chest and back, but his pattern of behavior on the force continued without repercussions from the department.  He has never been charged with a crime during his 15 years on the force and was allowed to work special details at the casinos, allowing him to pad his six-figure base salary.

In the incident that prompted the federal lawsuit, Sydnor, while on special detail at Bally’s Casino in 2012, is accused of repeatedly striking a man in the head and torso with a baton and kneeing him in the ribs while throwing him out of the casino. The incident, captured on casino surveillance cameras, can be seen in the video at the top of this column.

In 2006, a woman claims Sydnor followed her into her home and was forced to perform oral sex on him. The internal affairs investigator determined the complaint and the corroborating witness were credible, but the department only gave him a one-day suspension for "being outside of his district."

Our "Protecting the Shield" investigation showed how much of the abuse of police power could have been prevented if systems were in place to identify the bad cops early on and discipline them appropriately. The case in Atlantic City puts another exclamation point on the need for Gural to develop a central oversight unit that provides independent assessments of police misconduct and metes out appropriate penalties.

Randy Bergmann is editorial page editor of the Asbury Park Press.



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