This one was always a little hard to figure out. Why would two officers from the Lower Township Police Department steal two bikes right out in the open, with surveillance cameras everywhere, from a bike rack in Cape May?

Both men lost their jobs Monday as part of a plea deal with Cape May County prosecutors.

Back in October, the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office arrested Officers Eric Campbell, 28, and Austin Craig, 28, both of Lower Township, for theft.

An investigation by the Cape May Police Department regarding the theft of two bicycles from the area of Decatur Street in Cape May City on Oct. 8 found video surveillance showing two males removing the bicycles and leaving the area.

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According to the investigation, these suspects were identified as Eric Campbell and Austin Craig, who were both employed as police officers with the Lower Township Police Department.

As a result of additional investigation, Campbell and Craig were charged with theft, a crime of the fourth degree.

Monday, both men forfeited their employment with the Lower Township Police Department, in accordance with the deal reached with prosecutors, a court official said. The men will enter PTI according to the Cape May Herald.

PTI stands for “pre-trial intervention.” PTI is a diversionary program designed for first-time offenders charged with certain 3rd or 4th-degree indictable crimes in New Jersey.

The Press of Atlantic City reported in October that Craig had been hired by the Lower Township Police Department in April 2019, according to Donald Vanaman, administrative captain for the department, and Campbell was hired as a part-time Class II officer in 2016 and promoted to a full-time officer in January 2019.

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