Letter to the Editor about William Paterson Protest: 'I am in receipt of [the OPRA] request.'

Dear Editor,

In response to the filing of an OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request filed by me upon the Wayne Township Clerks Office asking for the township to account for the cost of public safety services in order to provide police and traffic control for the William Paterson University Dec. 10 civil rights demonstration, please know that I am in receipt of that request as stated below:

“With the exception of the man hour costs the information you requested in your OPRA Request 14-736 is exempt from disclosure under the OPRA exemptions NJSA 47:1A-1.1 ’Security measures and surveillance techniques which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety or persons, property, electronic data or software.’”

The man hour cost was $7403.59, according to Township Clerk Paul V. Margiotta, RMC, CMC, MMC.

Sincerely,

Stewart Resmer

Below is Resmer’s original letter, posted on Dec. 14:

Dear Editor:

[Pictured] was an ad hoc group of William Paterson students who decided to take their frustrations and concerns to Ratzer road and Hamburg Turnpike closing down the intersection and Hamburg Turnpike all the way down to the Passaic Sheriffs HQ, for just over an hour as is being done in over 100 cities nationwide in response to the deadly shootings and killings of other wise un armed individuals who fell at the hands of the police for relatively minor offenses.

There were probably three police officer to every protester, and it would be interesting to know what the operation cost the taxpayers?

Campus police remained on William Paterson and there was one Sheriffs vehicle and officer seen, an unknown officer on a roof, none were arrested that I saw with one momentary stand off as protesters repeated, “Whose street? Our street. Who shut this street down, we did! Hands up-don’t shoot! I can’t breath,” as they recalled the death of Eric Garner who was choked to death by the NYPD.

While the protesters were passionate and determined to be heard and seen in the streets and successful in shutting down traffic and intersections, frustrating motorists - some of whom blew their horns whether in support or not - the Wayne PD exhibited restraint by accommodating the protests ability to march unfettered while at the same time managing traffic control and the routine comings and going of ambulances to St. Joseph’s hospital.

The Wayne PD, while at times seemed to have an overwhelming presence and a large number of vehicles following the protesters occasionally blasting a siren, were well disciplined and professional without any apparent verbal or physical confrontations when confronted face to face and by in large represented the department and the township well and honorably.

The township must reply to my OPRA over expenses of the police action and account for weapons and labor costs to boot. This should be interesting though I expect they will defer citing chapter and verse of how to release that information would reveal tactics and methods far too sensitive to account for, this mind you as we read how the CIA tortured right?

I think the WPD should have applied resources to assure the demonstrators could exercise their right to be heard and seen but I thought it obscene in the way it was done. It seems to me the Community Service Officers who are unarmed would have defused the tension but I suppose Wayne doesn’t afford CSO’s at any rate. The whole ... department could have been on standby at the police station and in their homes off duty, it is not as if Wayne is hugely expansive and the William Paterson Campus Police as well the Passaic Sheriffs department HQ was/is defenseless.

Sincerely,

Stewart Resmer