Former New Jersey schools superintendent Thomas Tramaglini, 42, pleaded guilty to defecating in public. He was caught pooping near a high school athletic field. (Holmdel Township Police Department)
The ex-New Jersey superintendent who pleaded guilty to pooping on a nearby high school's track is asking the state attorney general to investigate whether police acted lawfully when releasing his mug shot to the press last spring.
Thomas Tramaglini, who headed the Kenilworth schools, was arrested in April after surveillance video caught him relieving himself near Holmdel High School's athletic field.
NJ EX-SUPERINTENDENT ADMITS TO POOPING ON A NEARBY HIGH SCHOOL'S GROUNDS
Students and staff members reported finding human feces on or near the school's field almost daily, sparking a hunt for the "mystery pooper," authorities said.
The Holmdel Township Police Department posted his mug shot on Facebook and his story went viral online, receiving national exposure as new details came to light.
Tramaglini's attorney, Matthew Adams, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Monday that the police department's actions were designed to "create a media spectacle" around the charges the former educator faced.
The attorney alleged that state law prevents police from taking and released mug shots of people charged with low-level offenses such as those faced by Tramaglini. According to his letter, a review of arrest reports provided by the township involving similar violations of municipal ordinances since 2007 revealed no instances in which mug shots were released.
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"The malicious and unlawful conduct by one or more representatives of the Holmdel Township Police Department achieved exactly what was apparently intended, and Dr. Tramaglini has sustained significant harm," Adams wrote.
Tramaglini has already filed a notice of intent to sue the police department for potential damages of more than $1 million due to loss of income, harm to his reputation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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