Police Chief: 'We Don't Have the Money or Manpower to Dedicate an Officer to the CBD'

On the heels of the latest rash of pedestrians struck by vehicles in the Central Business District (CBD), a councilman stated at the Wednesday night council meeting that assurances to add a police officer to the downtown have not been kept, and he criticized the chief of police for what he considered inaction. 

Police Chief John Ward told Patch Thursday that his request to add a dedicated officer to patrolling the CBD was never funded by the village and that he doesn't have the manpower to do it without additional funding.

After a lull in August and September the  and a  by vehicles in the past week. The village averages around 17-20 per year, according to data, and it remains a concern among both the citizens and the village's elected officials.

Though the causes of the strikes may be diverse in nature, Deputy Mayor Tom Riche on Wednesday night singled out Ward for what he considered a lack of enforcement. More enforcement, he said, would make a tremendous difference in Ridgewood.

"At the budget hearing this year I very specifically asked the chief if he had in his budget the money to put police officers downtown for traffic and pedestrian control other than the CBD car," Riche said. "I was assured that was going to happen and that hasn't happened.

"Unless we get enforcement by the police department – and I don't know what it's going to take for this chief of police to understand that that's important for this council, but I asked for it a long time ago and I haven't seen any effort," the Deputy Mayor said.

He added: "I know we've lost people and I'll speak for the rest of the council, we're not happy with what's going on in terms of speeding, pedestrian patrol and physical presence of police in the downtown area. ... This councilman wants to see significant change."

Ward said he'd love to be able to dedicate an officer to the CBD, but with a cut overtime budget and several officers out with injuries, his depleted staff simply cannot keep an officer downtown although he'd formally requested it in his budget.

"I explained to him [during the budget hearings in March] they just cut my overtime budget and that replaced personnel," Ward said. "Not only was I down personnel – which we still are – but I also had several officers out injured. He asked me what I'd need in overtime to dedicate a man up there. I told him approximately $10,000 to put one man up there. He told me to put it in the budget and they would make sure it was done. I put in a request – I have no control of the money or what happens thereafter. But I did not get a dedicated $10,000 for the man uptown."

According to Ward, because of the injuries his staff is facing, he's already spent nearly 120 percent of the $185,000 overtime budget he'd been allocated.

Despite the challenges, Ward said, the police have been vigilant in attacking pedestrian safety and traffic issues during his reign as police chief.

"We've stepped up enforcement on view restrictions, cell phones, traffic incidents, and traffic details are done all the time," he said. "When you reduce the size of your staff you do not have the people to plug into the spots to maintain operational readiness."

Ward said a car is always stationed at the downtown but because of the call volume, they're often pulled to other locations.

"I wish I had the additional manpower, I've spent a lot of time out there myself on my bicycle issuing tickets," he said. "I'm trying to do whatever I can, my men are trying to do whatever they can to address this issue. We've been out there."

Village Manager Ken Gabbert confirmed late Thursday afternoon the $10,000 figure requested by Ward was not granted in the budget. He did not say why when asked. Riche did not immediately return requests for comment.