Joshua Rosario
NJ Advance Media Group
JERSEY CITY — A judge has ruled in favor of Jersey City in its 15-month battle with the city’s police unions over the suspension of the lucrative off-duty jobs program in January 2019.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Turula dismissed the police unions’ lawsuit on April 2 when it granted summary judgment for the city and denied it for the police unions.
The union had claimed in the lawsuit that Mayor Steve Fulop’s administration had illegally halted the off-duty jobs program.
Fulop halted off-duty jobs after more than a dozen police officers, including former Chief Phil Zacche, pleaded guilty to federal charges that they were paid thousands of dollars for off-duty details they never performed.
“In any event, now that the old program is officially finished, we will start to work together with the police union to find common ground on how we can allow selective off-duty jobs with better oversight per the courts,” Fulop said. “We value our officers and we can now move forward for our officers while also protecting our residents from corruption.”
Fulop called the ruling a victory for the Jersey City’s residents over the off-duty jobs program system that allowed corruption to flourish.
Jersey City’s police unions, the Police Officers Benevolent Association and the Superior Officers Association, filed the lawsuit in January 2019 asking a judge to force the city to restore off-duty jobs. The unions said Fulop’s decision to kill the off-duty programs was an overreach of his power.
Acknowledging his disappointment with the judge’s decision, Carmine Disbrow, president of the JCPOBA, said that his union is “continuing to work with city officials to bring back off-duty work” as they believe that it is the best way to keep Jersey City safe.
Police officers often direct traffic or act as security for construction sites or festivals. Officers working those jobs are off-duty and being paid by a private company performing work that affects traffic, either after their shifts or on their days off.
The city still uses off-duty officers for parades, festivals, and other city-sponsored events. Off-duty officers are also used in areas where movies are being filmed in the city.
In making his decision, Turula concluded that Public Safety Director Jim Shea acted within his authority to suspend the off-duty program. In its motion, the city said by April 2019 off-duty jobs for officers were becoming more readily available.
The City Council in November had withdrawn an ordinance that would remove off-duty police officers from all traffic management, except when traffic signals are being overridden in intersections.
The legislation would have replaced the city’s 60-page traffic barricade manual, which has been in place for almost 25 years, with an 11-page traffic control manual.
According to the current traffic manual, police officers must be utilized for manual control of traffic at signalized intersections. Police officers or flagmen may be used for manual control of traffic at other locations.
Councilman-at-large Daniel Rivera requested the city withdraw the ordinance in November to give police unions a chance to read the new manual and work with city traffic and engineering. He said the legislation is “100 percent coming back.”