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Bradley Beach police Chief Leonard Guida will retire on Friday, Mar. 1, according to a Monday, Feb. 26 statement from Mayor Larry Fox. The mayor said Chief Guida's retirement was six months earlier than the borough anticipated.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigated the exchange between Chief Guida and Sgt. William Major, which happened on Thursday, Nov. 9. At a council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, the borough's attorney said Chief Guida was on paid administrative leave and declined further comment.
Mayor Fox said "actions have been taken" after the county prosecutor's office investigation but he didn't explain what they were.
"I’d like to thank Chief Guida for his 40+ years of service to our borough," Mayor Fox said in his statement. "Under his leadership, our community has become a much safer place to live."
TAPinto Asbury Park was first to report on the incident during a crash involving a suspected drunk driver. Chief Guida arrived at the crash scene at around 10:30 p.m. in street clothes and scolded Major for wearing a jacket with peeling letters.
Major's bodycam footage shows Guida approaching him, to which Major says, "Chief, I'm working. I don't have time to argue about a jacket." Video from another police officer's body camera captures the chief touching Major's right arm.
Major grabbed Chief Guida by the torso and slammed his back into the hood of a police cruiser.
"Don't you touch me!" Sgt. Major shouted. "Don't you touch me! Don't you f***ing touch me!"
Two other officers separated Guida from Major as the sergeant picked Chief Guida's keys off the ground and handed them back to him.
Sgt. Major also said the chief was "drunk again" and told him to leave or he was "going to get locked up." Chief Guida then told Sgt. Major that he was suspended and was ordered to return to police headquarters.
At least 300 people signed an online petition calling for Guida's firing before the retirement announcement.
"On a personal note, as a resident of Bradley Beach, I am saddened by the media attention that has cast a negative pall on our police department and in some ways, our town," Mayor Fox said. "I’d ask that we all come together and continue to improve this tight-knit community we live in."
Mayor Fox also said Capt. James Arnold will take over as police chief on Friday, Mar. 1.
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