From hero to suspect: NJ man triggered parade chaos with own device, cops learn

🚨Keansburg St. Patrick's Day Parade canceled after suspicious device found

🚨Man who reported device now charged with creating it after conflicting statements

🚨Faces multiple charges and loss of job at Brookdale Community College

KEANSBURG — The man who found the suspicious device near the staging area of the St. Patrick's Day parade has now been charged with sparking the panic that canceled the celebration.

The device was found a half hour before the Keansburg St. Patrick's Day Parade was scheduled to step off on March 28. The scare also led to a hold on all parades here for the rest of the year.

The device was reported to police by Christopher J. Otis, 56, of Brick, who said he was the Fire Safety and Environmental Compliance Officer at Brookdale College.  An investigation that included Keansburg police, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the FBI found "conflicting accounts of Otis’ involvement in finding the device," according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago.

Otis is charged with second-degree false public alarm, third-degree possession of a destructive device, and third-degree providing false information to a police officer. He is being held at the Monmouth County jail. New Jersey 101.5 did not know Tuesday whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

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Memorial Day Parade a go

A Brookdale Community College spokeswoman said the school is aware of the charges filed against Otis and is cooperating with the investigation.

"We take matters of safety and public trust very seriously," spokeswoman Laura Oncea said. "As this is an active investigation, we will not comment on specific details. The employee was placed on administrative leave without pay immediately upon notification, and the college has initiated the process of termination."

The website GovSalaries.com shows Otis began working at Brookdale in 2016. He earned a salary of $93,398.

Mayor George Hoff said that the arrest will pave the way for the Parade Committee to plan the borough's annual Memorial Day parade.

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