Police Chief Dudeck to receive ‘separation agreement’ with town; no financial incentives expected

The Princeton Council is in the process of negotiating a separation agreement with Princeton Police Chief David Dudeck following two closed sessions held on Monday evening.

“It is not a retirement package,” Town Administrator Bob Bruschi said Tuesday. “There is no financial incentive being provided for David to retire. It is a separation agreement that allows the structuring of the time he has on the books in such a way that there is some mutual benefit.”

The town is currently waiting for a response from Dudeck regarding the separation agreement, Bruschi added, although he noted that this means they have not yet reached a resolution.

“We are trying to deal with this expeditiously,” councilwoman and public safety subcommittee member Heather Howard said. “We hope to have this resolved shortly.”

Howard is currently a lecturer in public affairs at the Wilson School.

Councilwoman Jo Butler also said that no resolution to the matter was made on Monday.

Dudeck has been out of the office since Feb. 26, when accusations of administrative misconduct were raised against him. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office is also reviewing the allegations. Since the case was leaked to the local press, local officials have not released many details about the case and Dudeck has not returned voice mails left on his cell phone.

Meanwhile, Dudeck, an alumnus and longtime head football coach at the Hun School of Princeton, is still coaching at the Hun School despite the allegations against him, a school official confirmed.

The school’s communication office issued a statement earlier this week regarding Dudeck, but the statement did not address whether he was currently coaching students. Hun School Director of Communications and Marketing Maureen Leming declined to comment beyond the statement when reached Wednesday and did not provide a copy of the statement to The Daily Princetonian despite repeated requests.

"We are aware of the allegations of misconduct against Dave Dudeck in his role as Princeton Police Chief," part of the statement read, according to Princeton Patch. “Our expectation is that every member of our staff conducts himself with honor on and off campus. Because we have no first-hand knowledge of the allegations, we await the outcome of the current process.”

Captain Nick Sutter, who is the next in command at the police department and is currently handling all matters of the department, said that there is no indication that he would take the position of full time chief once Dudeck leaves the department. He declined to comment on the potential separation agreement.

Dudeck has served on the Princeton police force since 1983 and was designated the chief of the Borough police department in 2009. He became chief of the consolidated police department this year following consolidation.