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Erich A. Bennett, 46, a Sea Bright police officer, is charged with official misconduct, computer theft, criminal mischief, making terroristic threats, cyber harassment, stalking and hindering apprehension, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago
Bennett and the victim were in a brief dating relationship that the victim ended in late November 2022. On Dec. 5, 2022, Bennett showed up unannounced to the woman’s residence and threatened her with physical harm, prompting her to block him from contacting her electronically and to install security cameras on the exterior of her home, Santiago said.
Then, on Jan. 8, the victim began receiving harassing and threatening messages via social media from an online persona, which the investigation connected to Bennett, Santiago said. The next weekend, on Saturday, Jan. 14, as she was leaving her home, the victim noticed that all four tires on her vehicle had been slashed.
She further noticed over the weekend that the side of her vehicle 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 from her residence. The investigation placed Bennett in the area of the victim’s residence at the suspected time of the vandalism, the prosecutor said.
The investigation further revealed that from October 2022 through January 2023, Bennett had accessed law-enforcement databases on more than 30 occasions for non-law-enforcement purposes, specifically to access personal identifying information of the victim and multiple individuals with whom she is associated, Santiago said.
Bennett was arrested without incident on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending a detention hearing.
Bennett is currently suspended without pay from his job as a Sea Bright Police Officer.
“The facts of this case highlight a pattern of disturbing behavior,” Santiago said.
Anyone who has information about Bennett’s activities is being asked to contact MCPO Detective Ryan Mahony at 800-533-7443.
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