A township police officer was suspended without pay May 26 following the filing of criminal charges against him connected to the death of a motorcyclist.

Officer Lawrence Stiscia, a resident of the Asbury section of Franklin Township in Warren County, was charged May 26 with Second Degree Death by Auto in connection with an accident which occurred on Route 31 in Washington Township.

According to a press release from the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, Stiscia’s car rear-ended a motorcyclist as he was trying to turn from Route 31 onto Asbury Anderson Road at about 10:15 p.m. on March 18.

A blood test revealed Stiscia’s blood alcohol content to be .201, two-and-a-half times the legal threshold of .08, according to the release.

Stiscia was cited in March for Driving While Intoxicated and Careless Driving.

The criminal charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in state prison, according to the release.

In a statement released on May 26, Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather said, “We are deeply saddened by this recent unfortunate incident involving our officer, Lawrence Stiscia.  We offer our condolences to the victim’s family.   Upon learning of the incident, Officer Stiscia was immediately suspended.   Today we were notified of the criminal charges.  Therefore, he will be suspended immediately without pay.  As this is an ongoing and active criminal case and administrative investigation, we cannot comment further.”