Method of Taking Complaints Should be Fixed, Police Chief Says

Bedminster and Bernardsville police were not among the list of departments whose members were able to answer all questions from the ACLU on filing complaints.

But Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine said members of his department were never even reached to be questioned directly.

The ACLU called 497 police departments in New Jersey and asked officers questions about filing complaints. More than half the departments answered at least one question incorrectly, according to the report. 51 departments did not get a single question right. A list of departments whose officers answered everything correctly is available online here.

Bedminster Township Police Chief Pat Ussery said the chiefs spoke about it at Wednesday’s Somerset County Chiefs meeting, and it appears the guidelines are clear about the universality of accepting internal affairs complaints.

“We like to take them from primary sources because they are easier to investigate,” he said. “With a third party, we investigate to the extent we can, but it’s easier to investigate with a primary source.”

Still, Ussery said, he thinks there might be some problems in communication. He said he thinks there needs to be some additional training with civilian staff, particularly with so many departments having a regionalized dispatch system.

“I think those parties have been trying to revert callers to a county prosecutor’s office, and there is some training at the county level to adjust that,” he said.

But, Ussery said, they need to ensure that if someone is calling to complain about an officer they are funneled to a real cop or supervisor instead of being sent elsewhere.

“I think that’s the mistake or break in communication chain that we are not addressing,” he said. “That’s where we stand at this moment.”

Ussery said it is also possible that staff with the ACLU called several departments and got the same person because of the regionalized dispatch, all of whom were sending them to the prosecutor.

“It needs to be cleaned up to make sure citizens calling to make complaints about how they are treated get referred directly to the police department,” he said. “There are steps being taken to make sure that gets cleaned up.”

The Bernardsville police chief said the department actually passed the test the last time the ACLU called.

This time, apparently, “They never spoke directly to anybody and never left messages with anyone, based on the information we have at this time,” Valentine said regarding the most recent questionnaire. “The last time the same group called, Bernardsville passed questioning with flying colors."

Valentine said his understanding is that for this report, the caller apparently did not use the borough police department's automated phone option of pressing 0 to speak directly to a dispatcher. Bernardsville maintains its own dispatching service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.

Instead, Valentine said, the caller supposedly called some of the names on the menu for officers, including the chief's office. Valentine said he did not receive a message, as far as he knows.

Valentine said all police officers in the department are trained to take complaints, anonymous or not, from any caller. He added that all such complaints would be looked into by a department he describes as "professional."

Valentine said that even dispatchers are trained to at least take basic information, including a number to call back, or are told to inform a caller who wishes to remain anonymous what time may be best to call again. He said that dispatchers could even write down a brief complaint, although their need to answer emergency calls would preclude a long conversation.

He said he himself had received an anonymous call on Wednesday morning regarding a situation in the borough, not an individual officer, which he planned to follow up.

As for complaints from the departments, there were a total of six filed against the Bedminster Township Police in 2011, including two anonymous complaints and four citizen complaints. These complaints included one for improper search, one for differential treatment, two for demeanor and two for other rule violations.

Of those, the two for other rule violations were sustained, while the remaining complaints were determined to be unfounded, according to the reports.

Ussery said all complaints are seriously investigated with regard to any perceived police misconduct.

“I’d say 90 percent are often demeanor based if a citizen doesn’t like the way he was spoken to or communicated with on an issue,” he said. “Some citizens think officers overstep their constitutional duties or obligations in regard to searches.”

Ussery said they take these complaints seriously and training is held if complaints are found to be real violations.

But, Ussery said, complaints are normally expected.

“Any police department that is out there doing its job actively is going to garner complaints from people who perceive they were mistreated,” he said. “If an agency didn’t get complaints, you would probably be forced to wonder whether the officers were doing enough work out there.”

For Bernardsville in 2011, there were three citizen complaints, one for excessive force, one for differential treatment and one for demeanor. Another agency complaint came in for an other criminal violation.

Of those, in terms of agency dispositions, one was sustained and another was not.