By STEVEN REILLY
A Fairfield police officer was charged by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office on Friday for his part in a January assault that involved alleged members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
According to Sussex County Prosecutor David Weaver, the police officer was off duty at the time and tried to influence investigators to protect the members of the Hells Angels he was with during the Jan. 12 assault.
Anthony Girardi Jr., 48, of Fairfield, was processed Friday at the Sussex County Sheriff's Office in Newton and charged with official misconduct and third-degree hindering apprehension and prosecution.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Girardi was at Tony's Bar in Hardyston with alleged Hells Angels members Sean Sweeney and Bernard Krynicki.
While at the bar, Krynicki and Sweeney allegedly began an altercation with a man and woman who were also at the bar. During the fight, Krynicki hit the man over the head with a beer mug while Sweeney grabbed the woman and attempted to punch her, according to the report.
The Prosecutor's Office said the assaults occurred in front of Girardi and that he failed to perform his duty as a police officer to stop the attack.
When police officers from the Hardyston Police Department arrived to investigate the incident, Girardi allegedly tried to prevent Krynicki and Sweeney from getting arrested.
According to prosecutors, Girardi identified himself as a police officer and provided false information regarding the assault to responding officers.
A request for comment from the Fairfield Police Department was not returned. It is unclear if Girardi is still on active duty as a police officer in that municipality. He was released Friday on his own recognizance with a summons for a pending court date.
Krynicki and Sweeney were arrested and charged by Hardyston police on Jan. 26 on aggravated assault and weapons charges.
Krynicki, 45, a North Arlington resident, is being held at the Sussex County Jail in Newton on $57,500 bail; Sweeney, 42, a Hamburg resident, was released on a summons.