North Bergen, N.J. EMT charged in Secaucus complaint-summons over remote 'ghost plate' switch

HUDSON TV EXCLUSIVE

SECAUCUS, N.J. — A paid emergency medical technician employed by the Township of North Bergen was arrested by Secaucus police and charged in a municipal complaint-summons with tampering with public records after an officer wrote in a sworn probable-cause affidavit that he watched the rear of the EMT’s Jeep switch from a solid black blank frame to a visible New Jersey license plate in mid-traffic—and that the driver told police on body-worn camera he had a remote-controlled “on and off” switch installed to conceal his plate.

New Jersey Treasury pension records show Walter D. Rogers, 35, of Wood-Ridge, N.J., remained an active, full-time pension-enrolled employee of the Township of North Bergen as of June 30, 2026, at a base pensionable salary of $41,266.00—more than three and a half months after the March 10, 2026 arrest in neighboring Secaucus. In a written statement Tuesday afternoon, North Bergen Township Attorney Thomas R. Kobin told Hudson TV that Rogers “promptly reported to his superiors the charge,” that the township understands the case “was resolved as a disorderly persons matter,” and that “the charge also does not touch upon Mr. Roger’s Civil Service employment in North Bergen.” Meanwhile, Secaucus officials did not respond by Hudson TV’s Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 5:00 p.m. EDT deadline to questions about the municipal court disposition or why Town Clerk Michael Marra withheld the three officers’ body-worn camera videos of the stop under the “Internal Affairs records” exemption.

1. How the March 10 Stop Unfolded According to the Sworn Affidavit

According to the nine-page Secaucus Police Department arrest and court packet for Case #26-012286—released by the Town of Secaucus on March 25, 2026 in response to an OPRA request—the incident began during the Tuesday evening rush hour on March 10, 2026 at 5:41 p.m. near 925 Paterson Plank Road and the intersection of Park Plaza Drive and Plaza Drive.

In his sworn Affidavit of Probable Cause attached to Complaint-Summons 0909-S-2026-000104, Officer Jay Valerio (#198), who was on patrol in marked unit #24, wrote:

“ON 03/10/26 AT APPROXIMATELY 1741 HRS, WHILE ON PATROL IN MARKED POLICE UNIT #24, I OBSERVED THE DEFENDANT IN A GREY JEEP INITIALLY EXECUTE AN IMPROPER RIGHT TURN AT THE INTERSECTION OF PARK PLAZA DR/PLAZA DR. DEFENDANT CIRCUMVENTED CONGESTED TRAFFIC ON PLAZA DR BY PASSING ALL VEHICLES ON THE LEFT. I POSITIONED MY VEHICLE BEHIND THE DEFENDANT WHERE I THEN OBSERVED THE ABSENCE OF A REAR LICENSE PLATE, AS A SOLID BLACK FRAME WAS ONLY AFFIXED. AFTER TRAVELING FURTHER ON PARK PLAZA DR, I OBSERVED SAID BLACK FRAME ON THE DEFENDANT’S VEHICLE TO HAVE SUDDENLY REVEAL A NEW JERSEY LICENSE PLATE WHICH YIELDED NJ REG: [REDACTED].”

Electronic “blackout” or shutter license plate frames—often marketed online as “ghost plate” or “stealth plate” covers—use either a motorized roller blind or an electrochromic liquid-crystal film wired to a cabin switch or key-fob remote that turns opaque black on command.

When Officer Valerio pulled the grey Jeep Grand Cherokee over and asked Rogers how his rear license plate had vanished and then reappeared while driving down Park Plaza Drive, Officer Valerio wrote in his sworn probable-cause affidavit that Rogers told him the plate cover was wired to a remote switch:

“ROGERS WAS ADVISED OF HIS MOTOR VEHICLE INFRACTIONS I OBSERVED AND ASKED HIM HOW HIS REAR LICENSE PLATE WAS INITIALLY MISSING AND SUDDENLY BECAME VISIBLE. HE THEN ADVISED ME THAT HE HAD A LICENSE PLATE COVER INSTALLED AND IS REMOTELY OPERATED USING A SWITCH WITH AN ON AND OFF FEATURE, WHICH TOGGLES SAID LICENSE PLATE COVER TO CONCEAL HIS LICENSE PLATE. ROGERS FURTHER STATED THAT HE REQUESTED HIS FRIEND TO HAVE SAID LICENSE PLATE COVER INSTALLED AND WAS NOT AWARE OF IT’S ILLEGAL POSSESSION AND USE. ROGERS WAS SUBSEQUENTLY PLACED UNDER ARREST FOR 2C:28-7A(1) (TAMPERING WITH PUBLIC RECORDS OR INFORMATION), A DISORDERLY PERSONS OFFENSE.”

On the Preliminary Law Enforcement Incident Report (PLEIR) accompanying the complaint-summons, Officer Valerio checked the boxes stating that he personally observed the alleged offense, that Officers Tyler Pein (#163) and Eric Salinas (#215) also personally observed the incident, and that both the stop and Rogers’s statements were recorded on Body-Worn Camera.

2. CAD Log: K9 Sniff, Holding Cell 4 & Municipal Complaint-Summons

The Secaucus Police Department Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) report for CAD #26-012286 logs every step of the three-and-a-half-hour arrest and booking process on the evening of March 10, 2026:

Under New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Code, Tampering with Public Records or Information (N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7a(1)) makes it an offense to “knowingly make a false entry in, or false alteration of, any record, document or thing belonging to, or received or kept by, the government for information or record, or required by law to be kept by others for information of the government.” Unless graded as a third-degree crime where the actor’s purpose is to defraud or injure anyone, a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7a is a disorderly persons offense punishable by up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Rogers was released on his own recognizance with a first appearance scheduled in Secaucus Town Municipal Court (Room 0001, 1203 Paterson Plank Road) for Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 10:30 a.m., alongside a companion motor vehicle summons. A municipal complaint-summons is an accusation, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

3. North Bergen EMS Employment & NJ State Pension Records

On the official Secaucus Police Department Arrest Report (Case #26-012286, reviewed by supervisor nspangenb), Rogers’s employment fields read:

• Occupation: EMT
• Employer: North Bergen EMS
• Business Address: 4233 John F. Kennedy Blvd, North Bergen, NJ (North Bergen Town Hall)

A cross-check against the New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s Division of Pensions and Benefits database (YourMoney Active Pension Members on data.nj.gov, current as of June 30, 2026) confirms that Rogers is a full-time, pension-enrolled employee of the Township of North Bergen:

Because the state pension dataset reflects active employer payroll reporting through the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the filing confirms that Rogers remained on North Bergen Township’s active payroll at least three and a half months after his March 10 arrest in Secaucus.

Prior to joining North Bergen EMS full-time in November 2023, Rogers served as a volunteer EMT with the Rutherford First-Aid Ambulance Corps in Bergen County. In July 2021, Rogers and three off-duty law enforcement and fire personnel—including a Wood-Ridge police officer and a Wood-Ridge firefighter—were profiled in local news reports and honored at the 2021 National Conference on EMS after stopping on the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark Liberty International Airport to help pull three women from an overturned SUV.

4. Why Did Secaucus Deny the Bodycam Video as an “Internal Affairs” Record?

One of the most striking records in the public file is what happened when the requester who obtained the arrest report and complaint-summons filed a follow-up OPRA request on March 26, 2026 seeking the body-worn camera footage from the three Secaucus officers at the scene (P.O. Jay Valerio #198, P.O. Eric Salinas #215, and P.O. Tyler Pein #163).

The next day, March 27, 2026, Secaucus Town Clerk Michael Marra issued a formal denial letter refusing to release any of the three officers’ bodycam videos:

“Your email request sought access to the following: ‘Records requested: Bodycam footage for the motor vehicle stop/arrest of Walter Rogers on 3/10/26 from the following officers: 1. PO Jay Valerio #198, 2. PO Eric Salinas #215, 3. PO Tyler Pein #163.’

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 and Executive Order No. 26 (McGreevey 2002), your entire request is being denied due to Internal Affairs records.”

Under New Jersey’s Body-Worn Camera Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5) and OPRA, routine traffic-stop and arrest recordings are not automatically Internal Affairs records unless an Internal Affairs investigation or administrative conduct inquiry has been opened involving the stop or the officers’ actions.

5. North Bergen Township Attorney: Rogers “Promptly Reported” the Charge; Secaucus Fails to Answer by Deadline

In a written response sent Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 at 3:56 p.m. EDT, North Bergen Township Attorney Thomas R. Kobin of Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo, PC (copying Township Clerk Erin Barillas and North Bergen EMS Chief David Prina) stated that Rogers notified his supervisors of the March 10 charge and that the township understands the case was resolved in municipal court as a disorderly persons offense:

“We are the Township Attorneys for North Bergen, and your email has been forwarded to us for response. As you know, the Township is significantly restricted in discussing personnel matters. The Township will respond in due course to your request below under OPRA. However, we do wish to note that Mr. Rogers promptly reported to his superiors the charge you reference below. The charge is generally a disorderly persons charge, the complaint does not specify that any higher charge is sought, and we understand that the case was resolved as a disorderly persons matter. The charge also does not touch upon Mr. Roger’s Civil Service employment in North Bergen.”

Kobin did not state what the municipal court disposition or penalty was, whether North Bergen EMS conducted any internal review regarding the remote-controlled license-plate cover, or whether Rogers’s duties include operating township emergency vehicles.

On Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, Hudson TV submitted formal records requests under OPRA (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10) and requests for comment with a Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EDT deadline to both municipalities:

• To the Township of North Bergen (Township Clerk Erin Barillas and North Bergen EMS Chief David Prina): Requesting Walter D. Rogers’s non-exempt personnel and payroll summary under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 (exact job title, hire date, current employment status as of Oct. 26, 2026, base salary, and 2025–2026 gross and overtime compensation), and asking whether Rogers notified North Bergen EMS of his March 10, 2026 arrest, whether any administrative review or disciplinary action was taken, and whether his duties include operating North Bergen EMS ambulances and responding inside residents’ homes.
• To the Town of Secaucus (Town Clerk Michael Marra and Police Chief Dennis Miller, copying Town Administrator Gary Jeffas): Asking for the final disposition or current Secaucus Municipal Court status of Complaint-Summons #0909-S-2026-000104 (which was scheduled for a first appearance on March 24, 2026) and the companion motor vehicle summons issued during the stop, and asking why the body-worn camera recordings of the March 10 traffic stop and arrest were withheld under the Internal Affairs exemption and whether an Internal Affairs investigation was opened.

Secaucus Town Clerk Michael Marra, Police Chief Dennis Miller, and Town Administrator Gary Jeffas did not respond to Hudson TV’s comment questions by the Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EDT deadline. (On Oct. 26 at 3:33 p.m. EDT, the Town of Secaucus OPRA Response Team sent a form letter signed by Marra denying the OPRA records portion of the email because it did not include the three statutory certifications under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f) regarding indictable convictions, commercial purpose, and pending litigation.) This story will be updated if Secaucus officials respond or when the requested municipal court and North Bergen OPRA payroll records are produced.

North Bergen, Secaucus, and Hudson County homeowners who want to check how municipal payrolls and public-safety budgets affect their property taxes can check whether their home is over-assessed with GardenState.ai’s Property Tax Appeal tool and model municipal budget impacts with the Tax Shock calculator.

Hudson TV asks: Should municipal EMTs and public-safety employees charged with using remote-controlled “ghost plate” covers face a public administrative review, and should Secaucus explain why the traffic-stop bodycam video was withheld as an Internal Affairs record? Share your take in the comments.

Have a tip or public records about North Bergen, Secaucus, or another Hudson County municipality? Email info@hudsontv.com.