Dover Police Cleared on all Mayor’s Wiretapping Claims

Morris Prosecutor closes three-month investigation, finds no evidence of wrongdoing.

Dover Police Chief Jonathan Delaney's department was cleared of any wrongdoing in Mayor James P. Dodd's wiretapping claims. (Photo/DOVERNOW.com)

On August 27, Dover Mayor James P. Dodd released a video via the town’s social media channels, accusing the Dover Police Department of illegally wiretapping incoming and outgoing Town Hall calls. Flanked by Town Administrator/CFO Ed Ramirez and Municipal attorney Ramon Rivera,  Mayor Dodd said Ramirez “reached out to the Morris County Prosecutor and New Jersey Attorney General’s Office requesting a full and thorough investigation.”

On December 10, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office released the findings of its three-month investigation, in which it found “no evidence of criminal activity” by the DPD.

Dover Police Chief Jonathan Delaney has faced a variety of attacks from Mayor Dodd, including criticism of his six-year contract, excessive overtime for officers, and allegedly ineffective policing. Most recently, the mayor lost repeated attempts to replace Chief Delaney with a civilian Public Safety Director. Months ago, the Chief sued the Mayor over charges of harassment. 

At issue is a Town Hall phone system that uses “Voice over Internet Protocol” (VoIP). The system, which has the capacity to record calls, also delivers a message stating that calls may be recorded. The deal for the system was finalized in 2023 during the tenure of Mayor Carolyn Blackman, who defeated then-Mayor Dodd in 2019; Dodd reclaimed the post in ’23.

While Mayor Dodd claimed he had no prior knowledge of the VoIP recording capabilities, the investigation revealed that the service – with its recorded warning – was installed in early 2024, after the new mayor had taken office.

Wednesday’s statement from the Prosecutor’s office restated the findings: “The investigation further revealed that other high-ranking officials from the Town of Dover who were hired under the current mayoral administration were aware of the [phone] system’s recording capabilities.”

Chief Delaney was pleased by the prosecutor’s latest ruling. 

“The Detective Lieutenant was placed on administrative leave at the direction of the Business Administrator on or about August 29, 2025, following the baseless wiretapping accusations,” Chief Delaney said. “We welcomed and fully cooperated with the internal affairs investigation, confident the truth would demonstrate there was no evidence of criminal activity or administrative violations. Now that the investigation by independent agencies has concluded, more than three months later, we are pleased to have the Detective Lieutenant return to duty promptly, as he is an integral part of our agency.”

Council member Sandra Wittner welcomed the news. “I am pleased to learn that the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has found no wrongdoing after completing a thorough investigation into allegations of wiretapping in the Town of Dover municipal building,” she said. “As a member of the governing body, I was fully aware of the service that we have paid for monthly for two years now. I am not sure how any elected official in our town could have been unaware of this.”

Wittner said she hopes the ruling spurs a focus on the department’s good policing. “It is clear to me that this smear campaign against our police department was a desperate attempt by this administration to continue to discredit our Chief of Police and hardworking officers by sowing distrust. Our Internal Affairs Lieutenant has always been above board, and I had no doubt that the evidence would exonerate him. I look forward to moving on from this and continuing to work together with our law enforcement partners to serve our community.”

Mayor Dodd didn’t respond to requests for comment about the prosecutor’s ruling.