(This article first appeared in Broad + Liberty.)
Data obtained via an online people-searching database indicate Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Munroe (D-144, Bucks) apparently racked up several arrests in Virginia in 1996 while serving in the Navy.
The name on the records is an exact match for the Bucks County representative’s full name, Brian Richard Munroe, and all four charges arose in Virginia Beach. According to documents provided by the National Archives, he was stationed in that city in 1996, eventually deploying on the USS Theodore Roosevelt which berthed in neighboring Norfolk.
Records obtained from the website Intelius show on January 18 of that year, the defendant caught a disobey-highway-sign charge for which a court found him guilty in absentia and imposed a fine.
From there, the seriousness of the incidents would only increase.
The second offense occurred on March 8 after which he was charged with reckless driving at 20 miles over the speed limit. The court again found him guilty in absentia and levied a fine.
A third guilty verdict and fine came down after the defendant was found to have been publicly intoxicated on April 5. The fourth and final charge — weapon concealment on September 29 — was dismissed.
Virginia Beach General District Court adjudicated the offenses, all misdemeanors except for the highway-sign charge, a mere traffic infraction.
The legislator, who was 21 at the time of the first incident and 22 during the others, did not return multiple phone calls, emails, or direct messages via Facebook seeking comment over a 20-day period. Broad + Liberty also unavailingly asked him to provide a copy of his Navy release certificate to illuminate the circumstances of his discharge. It’s presently unclear if the series of arrests contributed in any way to his departure from the Navy — service that Munroe has made a part of his campaign.
The document indicating his discharge was not requested by Broad + Liberty but was provided by a group of individuals, mostly veterans, who routinely investigate the claims of military service made by politicians while campaigning.
Munroe joined the Navy in November 1994 and served until April 1997, ten months after he incurred his last guilty conviction. Broad + Liberty contacted several military colleges and law firms seeking expertise about whether civilian misdeeds like the above would require a discharge and whether a ten-month delay is typical. None replied before deadline.
The Navy Press Office, while noting “each case is determined based [on] its own merits and circumstances,” declined to comment further.
Munroe is serving his first two-year term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, having unseated GOP incumbent and fellow Navy veteran Todd Polinchock in 2022, prevailing by the slimmest of margins, 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent. The House Democratic Campaign Committee used Polinchock’s own alcohol-related wrongdoing against him, running an ad mentioning the Republican lost his pilot certificate after showing up drunk to supervise an Atlas Air simulator training session. In a Facebook post of the video, Munroe welcomed and amplified its attack.
“Todd Polinchock is too dangerous for Bucks County,” the challenger wrote. “His extremism and irresponsibility puts [sic] us at risk.”
Before being elected representative Munroe served for three years as the Bucks County Clerk of Courts and was a Warminster Township supervisor before that. Prior to his political career, he worked as a policeman in Radnor Township, Delaware County, his second first-responder job since working as a firefighter/EMT in Berwyn as a teenager. Eventually becoming a police corporal, he earned accolades for his work from the United States Congress and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Tyron Pope, an adjunct associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a clinical lecturer at Iona University, said the aforementioned misdemeanors wouldn’t necessarily kill someone’s job prospects in many police departments. While standards vary, he said only felonies, crimes of moral turpitude, or a sustained record of minor offenses would typically make someone unhirable.
“Given the offenses that were committed and given that they do not involve dishonesty, violence, or a pattern of certain types of behavior, they’re less likely to lead to automatic disqualifications but could lead to additional scrutiny during the process, especially when it comes to character assessment,” Pope, a retired New York City policeman, told Broad + Liberty.
The professor added that departments will be more likely to discount an applicant’s minor crimes if the candidate eventually demonstrated model citizenship, for example by serving with distinction in the Armed Forces. He suggested that while law-enforcement agencies must maintain high behavioral standards, a spirit of forgiveness often makes sense if an aspiring officer committed less grave offenses and showed improved conduct.
“I believe in second chances,” Pope said. “And a lot of things happen with age; maturity comes into account.”
That spirit is becoming more prevalent as many U.S. police departments suffer recruitment shortages, he said, with 22 percent of departments having recently relaxed their policies on hiring those with misdemeanors.
Munroe, a married father of two, retired from police work after ten years on Radnor’s force due to severe injuries sustained in a multi-vehicle crash caused by another driver.
Currently a member of the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, Munroe has made police policy a signature issue in Harrisburg, joining the Law Enforcement Caucus. He has sponsored legislation to expand police death benefits and to ensure all years of service count toward pension when an officer changes departments.
The representative and two-decade Warminster resident is seeking a second term in the state House this November, defending his seat against Republican Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Dan McPhillips. Munroe’s district comprises Ivyland Borough, Warminster, and Warrington townships as well as part of New Britain Township.
His reelection battle is broadly considered as among the most competitive legislative races in Pennsylvania. As the county GOP attempts to keep Joe Hogan and K.C. Tomlinson in their lower Bucks House seats, Republicans consider Munroe’s district — which Joe Biden won by three percent in 2020 — as an especially achievable pickup. In a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee memorandum listing 15 pivotal races, Munroe’s was one of only six currently blue districts that could flip to red.
House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler (R-100, Lancaster) has referred to Bucks, a longtime GOP stronghold where Democrats have enjoyed increasing success, as “ground zero” for the 2024 elections.
While Munroe boasts a police background, McPhillips has garnered more law enforcement endorsements so far. McPhillips supporters include the Bucks County Fraternal Order of Police as well as Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn (R) and County Sheriff Fred Harran (R). Munroe touts the backing of VoteVets, a left-leaning veterans organization, as well as that of Planned Parenthood, environmental groups, and labor unions.
Some offenses arguably more serious than those Munroe apparently committed didn’t stop other politicians’ paths to reelection. Up in Lehigh County, Republican state Senator Pat Browne crashed his motorcycle on an Interstate 78 off-ramp in 2015 after which police determined his blood alcohol level exceeded the state’s limit.
Browne received DUI charges and a license suspension for crashes in 1995 and 1999 while a state representative. He remained in the General Assembly until losing a primary in 2022 and got appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) for revenue secretary the following year.
