Jason Dare,

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A New Jersey State Trooper who sparked a multi-state search after walking away from a Pennsylvania rehab facility will not get his job back, after a state appeals court upheld his firing for breaking the terms of a “Last Chance Agreement” he signed years earlier.

Trooper I Jason Dare, who served about 20 years, had already been disciplined multiple times, court records show. Between 2015 and 2017, he was charged in a hit-and-run crash, arrested for DWI, and sent inappropriate text messages that included asking a police officer about obtaining an untraceable firearm, according to a court opinion dated Aug. 14.

In 2018, Dare agreed to what the State Police called a “Last Chance Agreement,” the opinion says. It stated: “Should any new allegation of misconduct be substantiated against you which is deemed by the Superintendent to be significant enough to warrant your termination, you will be subject to Summary Dismissal from the Division,” the opinion said. 

In other words, one more serious misstep would mean he could be fired on the spot. That moment came in March 2023. 

While on duty, Dare suffered a mental health episode and was admitted to a Pennsylvania facility, the opinion said. Within days, “Dare left the facility and failed to notify the NJSP’s compliance unit as required,” the court wrote. A multi-state search followed before he was found inside a carriage house without permission. Although no charges were filed, the incident triggered new disciplinary action.

On Nov. 27, 2023, the Superintendent fired Dare, writing that “the Division ha[d] obtained sufficient information which prove[d] [Dare] ha[d] violated the terms of a negotiated [Last Chance Agreement] executed on June 7, 2018,” according to the opinion.

Dare appealed, arguing he was denied the chance to defend himself because he was hospitalized during his pretermination hearing. 

The appellate court rejected that claim, ruling that the State Police “did not act arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably in summarily dismissing Dare” under the terms of the agreement.