When food cravings overcame essential responsibilities, a cop evidently went to satisfy them, ending in fatal tragedy.A New Jersey police sergeant was charged with official misconduct and tampering with records after allegedly ignoring multiple 911 calls about a shooting and instead driving to get a pizza and chit-chat, prosecutors said.Franklin Township police sergeant Kevin Bollaro faces up to 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine over his response to the deaths of 29-year-old Tyler Webb and his girlfriend, 33-year-old Lauren Semanchik, on August 1, reports the Daily Mail. 45-year-old New Jersey State Police Lieutenant Ricardo Santos and Semanchik’s ex-boyfriend was confirmed as the murderer. Santos was later found roughly an hour away with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
‘Bollaro should think about this every single day’
Angela Webb, Tyler’s sister, called for the maximum penalty for Bollaro, writing on Facebook she hoped he “serves all 10 years and thinks about this every single day.” Prosecutors say Bollaro knew about the first 911 call reporting gunshots and screaming around 7pm, but he drove away to withdraw money from a bank instead of going to the scene. Even after getting more calls from dispatch about worried neighbours, he only spent a few minutes at the first location and did not talk to the second or third callers. GPS data also showed he did not check the area where he could have found Semanchik’s home.Bollaro is also accused of driving to Duke’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, where he remained for 50 minutes, and then to the Pittstown Inn, where he stayed for nearly an hour, engaging socially with patrons. He later spent five hours at Locust Grover Cemetery, despite no criminal activity being reported there.
What Bollaro’s defence said
Tyler Webb and Lauren Semanchik were found by police officers on August 2 after a call reported an unconscious woman with apparent physical trauma. Investigators said Santos had been stalking and harassing Semanchik prior to the shooting. Her father discovered her inside their home the day after the 911 calls.Bollaro’s attorney, Charles Sciarra, defended his client, saying, “Nothing Kevin Bollaro did or did not do that day impacted or could have stopped that tragedy in any way. Sgt. Kevin Bollaro has faithfully served that community for nearly 25 years [and] is not guilty of anything related to this horrendous killing. This prosecution is unfortunate.”Bollaro is scheduled to appear in court on November 5.
