FORT LEE, N.J. -- Three police officers have been suspended after a roundup of juveniles from a "rowdy" house party early Saturday morning ended with five of the teenage boys spending the night in a locked police van.
The commanding officer of the shift and two other officers were suspended with pay on Monday night as an internal-affairs investigation got under way, Borough Attorney Lee Cohen said.
"We are treating this very seriously," Cohen said. "There was a serious error here, and maybe a series of errors, and we are investigating it to mete out discipline to whomever may have been in violation and to remedy the situation so it never repeats itself."
Mayor Mark Sokolich said he met Tuesday morning with community leaders to detail the ongoing investigation.
"It's completely inexcusable," Sokolich said. "There is nothing more important in Fort Lee than to conclude this investigation completely and accurately, and impose the appropriate safeguards so it doesn't happen again."
The Borough Council will hold an emergency executive work session on Thursday to discuss with Police Chief Thomas Ripoli an "up to the minute report as to the status of the investigation," Sokolich said.
"This is not a witch hunt. This is a fact-finding mission," the mayor said.
Police were called to a house party on Arcadian Way around 1:30 a.m. Saturday after neighbors complained about noise, Cohen said. They took about 20 minors into custody and arrested at least one person over the age of 18, loading all of them into a police van, Cohen said. When they got to the police station, five boys were left behind in the vehicle, he said.
Adam Kim, one of the teens left in the van, said in an e-mail that he and four other boys were "stranded" in the van for more than 14 hours with no food or water.
The boys were not able to telephone for help because the police took their phones, Cohen said.
Borough police, as part of standard operating procedure to ensure safety, confiscate all communication devices from people being transported in police vehicles, Cohen said.
The boys were all in good physical condition when they were released from the van, and they were given food and beverages, Sokolich said. Emergency medical services workers evaluated them, he said.
"Their parents were immediately called, and the chief personally reported to the parents the circumstances," Sokolich said, referring to Ripoli. Sokolich said he is planning to ask the boys' parents to meet with him.
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