Associated Press
HACKENSACK, N.J. — More than two dozen New Jersey police officers have been laid off amid budget cuts and a failed union deal.
Bergen County police officers, 26 in total, received notice Sunday night to report to the county’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations in Hackensack to turn in their equipment Monday afternoon. NorthJersey.com reports many of the officers, along with family members, met outside the county sheriff’s office to march to the bureau office — about five blocks away.
Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino says the layoffs are the result of new state mandates, but union officials dispute this.
A proposed deal last week would have prevented layoffs by disbanding the Bureau of Police Services and turning the officers into sheriff’s officers. Union members rejected the proposal by one vote.