Following state law, Monroe names officer to investigate animal abuse cases

BY Christopher Lang, Correspondent, @topherlang2 | MonroeNow | Aug 9, 2018

MONROE – With a deadline approaching to act, the Monroe Township Council approved an ordinance to that would create a humane law enforcement officer.

The person in this position would have authorities similar to that of a police officer including carrying a weapon.

The position comes in response to a state bill former Gov. Chris Christie signed in January before he left office. The law removed the enforcement authority of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJ SPCA) and passed the responsibility to a joint municipal-county system.

According to Monroe Township Business Administrator Alan Weinberg, towns had to make a decision before September about how they would provide enforcement of animal cruelty laws.

The law allowed towns to designate or hire their own person or contract with another community for a humane law enforcement officer. The person hired or designated to serve in the post can be a current animal control individual, police officer or someone else.

At the council meeting on Monday, the governing body approved a resolution naming police officer Daniel Mosakowski to serve as the humane law enforcement officer concurrently with his role as a cop.

“We decided to appoint a current police officer to be the humane law enforcement officer,” Weinberg said. “That’s within their current duties at no extra additional compensation.”

Tapping a police officer to fill the position means the town will continue to honor its self-imposed hiring freeze, except for a couple of instances, that was announced earlier this year by the mayor in his budget address.