Former N.J. A superintendent who had his needs in public stated that the police should not have published Mugshot

February 28, 2019, 00:04 GMT

By Janelle Griffith

A former school principal accused of defecating on the trail of a high school asked the Attorney General of New Jersey to investigate the illegal behavior of the police when he took his picture and made it public.

The attorney Matthew Adams said Monday in a letter to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal that "the actions of the Holmdel Township Police Department" were at the height of a voluntary misconduct. professional irresponsibility and complete disregard for the law.

Thomas Tramaglini was charged with lust, rubbish and stool in public in May, after police reported repeatedly defecating on the trail at Holmdel High School. Tramaglini pleaded guilty in October to having recovered in public once in the middle of a medical emergency and paid a $ 500 fine.

Tramaglini has presented to the court and prosecutor's office evidence of a medical problem known as runner's diarrhea that often affects runners and which is caused by acute blood circulation during the course of the day. exercise.

Tramaglini was charged with "heinous acts" that he did not commit, his lawyer told NBC News on Wednesday.

"It's a travesty that came to him because of that," Adams said. "His life was ruined."

Tramaglini resigned as director of the Kenilworth School District after a 20-year career in public education.

In his letter to the Attorney General, Adams stated that state law prevented the police from taking and posting photographs of people charged with crimes of minor gravity such as those committed by Tramaglini.

"It is critical to the functioning of our criminal justice system that we support law enforcement," Adams said in the letter. "It is equally important that we hold the police responsible for their wrongdoing so that the inappropriate actions of a few do not tarnish the good work of many people."

A Grewal spokesman told NBC News on Wednesday that the letter was being reviewed but declined to comment further.

David Schwartz, a lawyer representing the Holmdel Police Department, told NBC News that the canton "does not comment on outstanding or threatened cases, nor letters such as Tramaglini's dated 25 February 2019."