The Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The city’s police chief doled out disciplinary notices to 115 police officers who allegedly called in sick as a protest during contract talks last summer.
The notices, hand-delivered by a captain, order the officers to work one to three days without pay, according to Curtis Williams, president of the Police Benevolent Association, Local 24.
The officers have the option of accepting the punishment or challenging it at a hearing. Williams, who contends the city has a difficult case to prove, said most of the officers likely will pursue hearings.
“They’re going to have to prove that people were not sick. I don’t know how you do that,” Williams told The Press of Atlantic City for Friday’s newspapers.
Williams said the disciplinary action adds to the 400-person department’s growing morale troubles. Officers have been waiting three years for the city and PBA to reach a contract.
On Aug. 21, officers working the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift called in sick, forcing the department to cover the shifts by having on-duty officers work overtime.
The next day, a morning-to-afternoon shift called out, but the city went to court to force the officers back to work.
Despite the court order, more than half of the 39 officers on the midnight shift called out Aug. 23, prompting the city to sue the union for overtime expenses. The city’s suit was unsuccessful.