07/14/2026
Chief Guy Maire Returns, But New Questions Emerge About His Mysterious Five-Week Absence
Unexpected Return Follows Weeks of Public Silence, Conflicting Accounts, and Growing Questions Surrounding Township Hall and the Police Department
By Paul C. Williams
NJ Law, Politics and Government | July 13, 2026
TOMS RIVER, NJ — More than five weeks after Toms River Township Mayor Daniel Rodrick publicly announced that Toms River Police Chief Guy Maire would be taking what he described as a temporary medical leave expected to last only "a few weeks," Chief Maire reportedly returned to Police Headquarters Monday morning.
According to multiple sources familiar with the department, the Chief's return came as a surprise—not only to the public, but to many within the Police Department itself. Ordinarily, the return of a police chief from medical leave would attract little public attention. These are not ordinary circumstances.
For weeks, speculation has quietly circulated throughout Police Headquarters and Township Hall that Chief Maire's absence involved matters extending well beyond the public explanation offered by Township officials. During that same period, NJ Law, Politics and Government spoke with multiple independent sources who consistently described the situation as significantly more complicated than a routine medical leave.
Several of those sources further indicated that the circumstances surrounding Chief Maire's departure involved interactions between the Police Department and senior civilian officials within Township Hall, including Rodrick and Business Administrator Jonathan Salonis. The timing has fueled considerable speculation because Chief Maire's leave became public only weeks after the Township, Rodrick, and Business Administrator Jonathan Salonis filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, the New Jersey Attorney General, and other state officials over control and oversight of the Police Department. Chief Maire's unexpected return does not resolve the matter. If anything, it makes it more significant. The question is no longer simply where Chief Maire was. It is why these events unfolded the way they did.
A Leave That Never Quite Made Sense – When Rodrick first announced Chief Maire's leave in early June, he stated that the Chief would be away for only "a few weeks" and asked residents to respect his privacy. No reasonable person disputes that Chief Maire's personal medical information is private. But whether the Chief of Police is actively serving, intends to return, or has permanently left his position is not merely a private personnel matter. It is a matter of legitimate public accountability.
During the weeks that followed, however, several developments appeared inconsistent with the public explanation that the leave was temporary. Multiple sources told local media that Chief Maire had been seen cleaning out his office before departing Police Headquarters — a claim Mayor Rodrick publicly disputed. Media outlets also published a photograph showing that the nameplate identifying Chief Guy Maire outside his office had been removed from the office directory, while the nameplate identifying his secretary remained in place.
No single fact proves that Chief Maire intended to leave permanently. But reports that he cleaned out his office, the removal of his office nameplate, the absence of any public update for more than five weeks, and now an unexpected return that reportedly surprised many within the department present a sequence of events that has naturally invited legitimate public scrutiny. Taken together, however, they were difficult for many observers to reconcile with repeated assurances that the Chief was expected to return within a matter of weeks. As those weeks passed without further explanation, speculation only intensified.
Captain Anthony Scali assumed command of the department as Officer in Charge. The public received no meaningful update. Then, on Monday morning, Chief Maire unexpectedly returned. His return answered the question of whether he would return. It did little to answer the far more important question: what was and is actually going on.
Chief Maire's leave did not occur in isolation. It unfolded during one of the most turbulent periods in the recent history of the Toms River Police Department.
Since Rodrick assumed office in January 2024, the department has experienced extraordinary turnover among its leadership. Former Chief Mitchell Little retired after his suspension and subsequent litigation against the Township. Acting Chief Peter Sundack later took a medical leave before retiring. Chief Maire assumed command in July 2025. During his recent absence, Captain Anthony Scali once again assumed operational command of the department. At the same time, the relationship between Township Hall and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has deteriorated into open litigation.
Only weeks before Chief Maire's leave became public, the Township of Toms River, Mayor Daniel Rodrick and Business Administrator Jonathan Salonis filed suit in Mercer County Superior Court against Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the New Jersey Attorney General, the Division of Criminal Justice and other state officials. The lawsuit alleges unlawful interference with the Township's administration of the Police Department, including disputes over administrative authority, police communications equipment, the department's page, hiring practices, and the scope of prosecutorial oversight.
Regardless of how that litigation is ultimately resolved, it illustrates the extraordinary level of conflict surrounding the administration of the Police Department. Chief Maire's unexplained leave — and now his unexpected return — occurred squarely within that environment.
Chief Maire has now returned to work. But his return leaves numerous questions unanswered. Was the leave always expected to conclude with his return this week? If so, why were so many within the department reportedly surprised to see him back? Why was his office reportedly emptied? Why was his office nameplate removed if he was expected to return? Why did the leave extend well beyond the timeframe publicly described by Rodrick?
And if there is nothing more to the story than a temporary medical leave, why has the Township provided so little information concerning the leadership of one of New Jersey's largest municipal police departments? If Township officials believe those questions are based upon misunderstandings or inaccurate assumptions, they have every opportunity to answer them. To date, they largely have chosen not to do so.
These are not questions about Chief Maire's private medical condition. They are questions about government transparency. They are questions about public confidence.
And they are also questions that naturally arise when the chief executive of a police department disappears from public view for more than a month amid reports of an emptied office, a removed nameplate, and an ongoing power struggle between municipal officials and the agencies responsible for overseeing law enforcement in New Jersey.
The Investigation Continues – As NJ Law, Politics and Government previously documented in its June investigative report, "Fools Go It Alone": The Rodrick Administration's War on Toms River's Public Safety, the Police Department has spent much of the past two years at the center of litigation, political conflict, leadership turnover, staffing disputes, and continuing disagreements between Township Hall and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Today's events answered one question. Chief Guy Maire has returned.
They did not answer why his five-week absence unfolded the way it did. Nor did they explain why multiple independent sources continue to insist that the public has not yet heard the full story.
This publication will continue following the evidence wherever it leads. Because transparency is not achieved by speculation. It is achieved by asking difficult questions, demanding honest answers, and allowing the facts — not politics — to determine the story.
QUESTION: Do you believe the public should receive a more complete explanation from Township officials?
* Paul C. Williams is the founder and publisher of NJ Law Politics and Government. He has spent nearly four decades studying law, government, public policy, and legal research, and has successfully represented himself in numerous state and federal legal proceedings while also assisting attorneys and law firms with legal research and writing. His reporting seeks to distinguish allegations from established facts, place legal proceedings in their proper context, and encourage readers to examine the underlying public records for themselves.
**NJ Law Politics and Government remains a 100% volunteer endeavor dedicated to informing the public honestly, accurately, and objectively.
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