Marc Kovar
Executive Vice President
Change for the sake of change
A look at police-involved shooting investigations
A new law that Governor Phil Murphy recently signed puts the
NJ Attorney General’s Office in charge of investigating police-in-
volved shootings that result in a fatality.
Prior to passing this new law, all investigations of police-in-
volved shootings with deadly force were governed by the AG’s
Independent Prosecutor Directive – issued in 2006 and strength-
ened in 2015. This directive established procedures for con-
ducting investigations within county prosecutor’s offices. The
attorney general’s office was already conducting an appropriate
review of the investigations.
The NJ State PBA and its leadership argued against this
change. In fact, the governor’s own attorney general testified
against the new law when it was going through the legislature.
Here is a statement from NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan,
issued in a press release responding to these changes:
This legislation is terrible public policy and I have
reached out personally to the governor to express my
extreme disappointment and serious concerns with the
ramifications of his decision to allow this legislation to
become law without a veto addressing the concerns of
law enforcement. County prosecutor offices across the
state do a tremendous job whenever these unfortunate
situations arise, and they already have the attorney gen-
eral’s office perform comprehensive reviews when the in-
vestigations are finished.
We recognize that there was significant outside pres-
sure on the governor regarding this legislation from var-
ious community groups, but the fact remains that the
attorney general’s office does not have the resources, the
training or the manpower to take on this new role. In
fact, the governor’s own attorney general recently testified
in public hearings against putting his office in charge of
these investigations. Governor Murphy’s decision to move
forward with this legislation is a step in the wrong direc-
tion for law enforcement and for the public at large. It is
a direct slap in the face to every law enforcement officer
throughout the state.
As I write this article, less than 48 hours after the new law was
approved, a police-involved shooting resulting in a death oc-
curred in the city of Passaic. For those who don’t already know,
Passaic Local 14 is my Local.
While I believe that the change to how these investigations are
conducted was unnecessary and disrespectful to professional
law enforcement officers, we will now see how the new law works
in the real world. A world where life-threatening dangers lurk for
law enforcement officers during each and every work shift.
I have been standing in support of our brothers and sisters
in law enforcement for my entire career. I have visited hospitals
throughout the state and spoken directly with law enforcement
officers who unfortunately had to use deadly force. The use of
force on the job is traumatic, and unless it’s happened to you,
it’s hard to understand how difficult these situations are for the
officers involved and their families.
Let’s hope that this new law doesn’t make already difficult
times worse. Let’s remember to always keep the safety of all our
members in our thoughts and prayers.
As a closing thought, congratulations to Bruce Polkowitz, the
NJSPBA-endorsed candidate who won the election to be the re-
tired-members trustee on the new PFRS Executive Board. Bruce
reached out to so many of you in Local 600 during the election,
and the vast experience he brings to the new board will be a
great asset to all retired PFRS members.
Welcome, new State Delegates
The following State Delegates were sworn in at the January NJ State PBA meeting at Pines Manor in Edison:
• Armando L. Nardone, Belleville
Local 28 • Robert Guild, Morris Plains
Local 254
• Douglas H. Botti, Rahway
Local 31 • Matthew Deickmann, Union
Beach Local 291
• John Tarantino, Glen Rock
Local 110 • Kenneth Errickson, Eatontown
Local 305
• Michael Krzywdzinski, Old
Bridge Local 127
• Daniel Cottrell, Pompton Lakes
Local 161
• Craig Luebeck, Teaneck Local
215
• Michael Cooper, Saddle River
Local 348
• Edar Merza, Haledon Local 349
• James Pritchard Jr, Randolph
Local 403
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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