A Sea Bright Police officer was arrested this week after he was accused of stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend for over a month after they broke up, authorities said.
Erich A. Bennett, 46, of Sea Bright, and the woman were in a brief dating relationship that she ended in late November 2022. On Dec. 5, he showed up unannounced at her home and threatened her with physical harm, according to a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. She then blocked him from contacting her electronically and installed security cameras on the exterior of her home.
On Jan. 8, the woman began receiving harassing and threatening messages via social media from an online persona, which detectives connected to Bennett, the office said. The next weekend, on Jan. 14, as she was leaving her home, she noticed that all four tires on her vehicle had been slashed. She also noticed over the weekend that the side of her car had been keyed, a flagpole had been torn off the front of her house, and her Ring doorbell camera and two additional security cameras had been removed.
Detectives were able to place Bennett in the area of the woman’s home at the suspected time of the vandalism, investigators said.
Bennett also allegedly accessed police databases on more than 30 occasions between October 2022 and January 2023 to find personal identifying information of the woman and multiple individuals with whom she is associated, the office said.
Bennett was arrested on Wednesday and charged with pattern of official misconduct, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of computer theft, criminal mischief, making terroristic threats, cyber harassment, hindering apprehension, identity theft, and stalking, officials said. He was lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a detention hearing that was scheduled for Feb. 6.
Prosecutors said they had filed a motion to keep Bennett jailed pending the resolution of his case.
Bennett was suspended without pay and Sea Bright Police Chief Brett M. Friedman said his department has been cooperating with the office’s investigation.
“We acknowledge that when incidents such as this occur, the trust bestowed to us by our residents and governing body may be called into question, but know that the Sea Bright Police Department is dedicated to providing the highest level of service to all we are called to serve,” Friedman said in a statement.
Anyone with information about Bennett’s alleged activities was asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Ryan Mahony at 800-533-7443.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
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