Morristown Officers Say They Won't Be Bullied Into Ticket Quota

MORRISTOWN, NJ - Morristown P.B.A local 43 took to social media Sunday, claiming officers were being retaliated against by town administration for not meeting a ticket quota, something that Chief Darnell Richardson strongly disagreed with.

"Our members have been extremely hesitant to write tickets outside of mandatory, flagrant, or unusual circumstances. Our community has been hit hard during this pandemic where many are unemployed and struggling to get by. Many of our local businesses have been crippled. We didn’t feel it was necessary to add to those already difficult financial circumstances," the union posted to social media. "However our town administration has chosen to retaliate against us for doing so."

According to the Union post, officers are now assigned to mandatory walking posts at night but not during the day. The union noted that these officers are on foot with no vehicles to respond to emergencies or medical equipment such as narcan for overdoses, oxygen, defibrillator (AED for cardiac arrests), and other tools commonly used.

"At times, we only have six officers working during those hours and only half of them have patrol vehicles. This potentially leaves three vehicles to respond to emergencies while three officers are confined to a one block area depending on staffing levels," the union said. "Until this is rectified, please be patient with us as calls may potentially need to be prioritized to accommodate your needs."

Reckless, Unprofessional And Irresponsible

Richardson put out a statement Monday, saying that as chief he is the person who makes all operation decisions without interference from the town administration and had a strong reaction to the union post.

"Spreading false information on social media is reckless, unprofessional, and completely irresponsible," Richardson said. "Deployment decisions in the Bureau are solely in response to community needs. As Chief, It is my responsibility to decide what is necessary to protect this community. Patrol tactics and strategies are assessed on an ongoing basis."

Richardson noted that foot patrols have occurred in Morristown for over four decades and the recent addition of a late-night foot patrol was in response to complaints at council meetings and his office about the lack of police presence and late-night loud, and rowdy behavior affecting the quality of life for residents in that area that was not adequately addressed by a patrol car alone.

"This specific foot patrol assignment has been in place since early July of this year," he said. "Since this foot patrol was assigned, those complaints have declined significantly."

Richardson said the post was "sad" because foot patrols are a traditional function of every police department in the country and provide a much-needed service to parts of the community. He also said that revenue quotas are not only unwelcome, they are illegal. But that officers are expected to be productive and held accountable at work.

"It is troubling that our officers’ response to being held accountable for their hours of work is to contort that expectation into a false narrative to our residents rather than do the job they are expected to do," he said.

The union post said that their officers aren’t going to succumb to these tactics.

"We will not unnecessarily burden our residents who are already struggling from the pandemic," they wrote. "Our members will gladly stand out on foot all winter long before we are bullied into being revenue generators for a town that admittedly has a large surplus of money on hand and at their disposal."

For his part, Richardson said the troubling exchange does not dampen the efforts of the many hardworking officers that he continues to respect and enjoy working with.

"I hope that a disgruntled few do not distract from their hard work and dedication," he said.

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