New report slams NJ police chief caught ‘drunk’ on video

BRADLEY BEACH — A new report sheds light on the disturbing behavior of a New Jersey police chief who retired this past week.

Bradley Beach police Chief Leonard Guida repeatedly accosted his officers, publicly shamed them, fired and unfired them, and insulted them, according to the findings of an administrative investigation.

It found 28 sustained violations against Guida. Alcohol was believed to be a factor in several of the incidents.

The report, released by Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago on Friday, details several incidents starting in July 2022 and reaching until an incident last November when Guida showed up off-duty at a crash scene. A sergeant at the scene said that Guida was "drunk again."

"The findings outlined in this report illustrate unmistakably that over the previous year and a half, Chief Guida has been an active hindrance to the very law enforcement agency he was entrusted to lead," said Santiago.

Guida retired on Friday, which had been announced by Mayor Larry Fox just five days earlier. The report said that Guida may look to become the next coordinator for the borough Office of Emergency Management after his retirement.

"We recommend against any such appointment," the report said.

Drunk political rants

The report detailed one confrontation in which Guida had been drinking and showed up at the police station while off-duty. He saw a police officer watching Fox News and Guida began talking about politics.

This led to Guida dragging the officer into a conference room and berating him for over an hour. Guida was inches away from the officer's face while yelling at him and, at one point, put his hands on the officer and pushed him.

When questioned by MCPO investigators about putting his hands on the officer, Guida said, “I’m Italian, what do you want me to do?"

On another occasion, Guida showed up "hammered" at the police station and yelled at a patrolman about funding for Ukraine. During the encounter, Guida called the patrolman a "f**king idiot" for having a different opinion.

Firings and unfirings

The report documents several times when Guida yelled at police officers and threatened to fire them.

In one instance, a special law enforcement officer had his patrol vehicle taken and was fired for speaking to a woman the chief didn't like at a meet and greet event. Later that night, Guida unfired the officer.

The officer later told MCPO investigators that he believed the chief had been drinking.

In another incident, Guida yelled at a patrolman and threatened to fire him in front of a crash victim. The patrolman was being accosted for using his vehicle to block off the road while he assessed the scene, which the MCPO said in the report was the proper way to handle the situation.