October 4, 2020; Auto Theft; During the overnight hours, an unsecured vehicle with the keys left in it was stolen from Walton Rd.
October 10, 2020; Theft from Auto; During the overnight hours an unsecured vehicle parked on Dunnell Rd was entered. An ID and credit cards were stolen.
October 10, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; At approximately 3 am a vehicle left unsecured with the keys in it was stolen from Dunnell Rd.
October 12, 2020; Theft; At approximately 3 pm, two tires that had been delivered to a home on Orchard Rd were stolen.
October 14, 2020; Bicycle Theft; A bicycle left unsecured outside of Walgreens was stolen at approximately 7:15 pm.
October 15, 2020; Bicycle Theft; During the daytime hours a bicycle and lock were stolen from the Maplewood Train Station bike rack.
October 19, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; At approximately 10:30 pm an unsecured moped was stolen from behind an apartment on Millburn Ave.
October 21, 2020; Theft; At approximately 4:45 pm a male stole a bracelet from a jewelry store on Maplewood Ave.
October 25, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; An unsecured vehicle parked in the driveway of a Courter Ave. residence was stolen with the keys in it between 2-3 pm.
October 31, 2020; Burglary; After being away for several days, a resident of Prospect St returned home and found that entry had been forced to their home. Several items of value were stolen from the home.
November 1, 2020; Theft; A vehicle parked in Municipal lot 7 had American flags stolen off of it.
November 3, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; At approximately 7 pm an unsecured vehicle left running with the keys in it at Dunkin Donuts was stolen.
November 4, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; At 6:30 am, a vehicle left running in the driveway of a home on Indiana St was stolen.
In addition to the above events, there were 5 shoplifting incidents between 10/28 and 11/07.
October 29, 2020; Damage to Home; At approximately 10:45 am, Officers responded to a home on Field Rd on a report of a possible bullet hole in the house. Officers spoke with the resident who located a bullet fragment on her bathroom floor and an entry hole from the bullet. It is believed that the round entered the home sometime during the early morning hours and it is not believed that the resident was targeted. The investigation is still ongoing.
November 8, 2020; Trespass; During the overnight hours the Maplewood Pool was entered. At the time of the report, nothing was reported missing.
November 10, 2020; Theft from Auto; During the overnight hours an unsecured vehicle parked on Union Ave was entered and a wallet was stolen.
November 14, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; At approximately 11:15 pm a vehicle left running on Newark Way was stolen. The vehicle was left running without the key fob in it, but unsecured.
November 15, 2020; Motor Vehicle Theft; During the overnight hours an unsecured vehicle with the keys in it was stolen from a home on Wyoming Ave.
In addition to the above incidents there were three shoplifting incidents between November 7th and November 15th.
The Maplewood Police Department works hard to protect the residents and their property. We are asking that you assist us in this effort by making sure all vehicles and homes are properly secured at all times. All charges are merely accusations. Each suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Thank You
June 3rd, 2020
To Our Maplewood Community,
As Chief of the Maplewood Police, I would like to address the horrific murder of George Floyd at the hand of Police Officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Firstly, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the entire Floyd family for their tragic loss. I am personally outraged at this senseless loss of life. This man died as result of an accusation that he passed a counterfeit $20.00 bill. I am having trouble grasping the reality of this situation. If $20.00 is the value of a human life, then nobody is safe. George Floyd was treated without regard for humanity. There are no excuses for what happened to Mr. Floyd. He was handcuffed, held down by multiple officers, one of which had their knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck and made him suffer as he gasped for air and pleaded for help. These officers must be held responsible for their actions including those who just stood by and did not help Mr. Floyd.
In full transparency, I must acknowledge this Police Department has dealt with complaints of excessive force and misconduct in the past. I recognized that this history would change the relationship between Police and the community for many years to come. As the new Police Chief, I assembled a team of qualified diverse officers to help change the culture in the Police Department. There was no room for excuses or denial. We have learned a great many things along the way and that the officers would not accept change easily. Rebuilding trust and relationships in the community could not be set on a timetable and would have to be earned.
The Department established goals and objectives as part of this change in culture.
Why do these types of tragedies continue to happen?
Simply, it is a lack of vision, accountability and follow up. Change in department policy must be real and not just politics. And it must be accompanied with a comprehensive plan.
Law Enforcement Executives can expect that there will be limited or no help from outside agencies.
First there must be acknowledgement that change is necessary.
The department must commit to change as we stand shoulder and shoulder with our community.
The Law Enforcement Executive should prepare a plan to the Appropriate Authority for review.
A plan with goals, objectives, timelines, accountability requirements and ways to measure the effectiveness of not only the plan but its implementation. The plan must be publicly available for the entire community to read. It is crucial for the Law Enforcement Executive and the entire Command Staff to know all aspects of the plan. They will have to deliver a unified message to all personnel on how they can take personal ownership in their part of the plan. The plan must include reporting from the Law Enforcement Executive to be effective. There must be a performance evaluation mechanism for the Law Enforcement Executive as well.
To enact change and provide true justice, employment laws need to be changed or strengthened to make it easier to terminate officers before a tragedy occurs.
The public is outraged and rightfully so because they don’t trust or believe that anything will change.
Take responsibility!
Hold people accountable! Be accountable!
Don’t defend or make excuses for bad officers!
Don’t ignore what is right in front of you!
Don’t let this happen in your community!
Take a stand for what is best for our community!
Respectfully,
Chief DeVaul