TRAINING
THOMAS SHEA
Revisiting the authority of public safety directors in NJ
The court addressed this issue in Jordan v. Harvey, 381 N. J. Super 112( App. Div. 2005). I would like to revisit the issue questioning what happens if a currently appointed public safety director never actually retired but is rather a sworn officer on leave? Does the director still possess law enforcement powers? Let’ s first briefly revisit what the Jordan decision delineated:
According to N. J. S. A. 40A: 14 – 118, police chiefs have certain statutory authority granted by the state legislature. The court ruled that municipalities were permitted to appoint another administrator( such as a police commissioner or public safety director) as an“ appropriate authority” to oversee a police department under that same statute and that they could manage the“ day-to-day,” or basic, law enforcement operations. PBA Local 160 v. Township of N. Brunswick, 272 N. J. Super. 467( App. Div.) certif. denied, 138 N. J 262( 1994)
On many occasions, the appointment of director positions was given to former police chiefs, many of whom had retired. More than likely, they probably wanted to run their police departments the same way as when they were chiefs, with all of the accorded law enforcement powers. All of the ambiguity was laid to rest in Jordan, as the court reiterated that“ police directors” were, in fact, civilian positions and not entitled to the same authorized law enforcement powers as chiefs. Therefore, they could not drive police cars, adorn police uniforms, have powers of arrest, answer calls, have access to investigation or internal affairs reports, or any of the other statutory authority bestowed upon a sworn law enforcement officer. Directors could primarily create policy and handle administrative duties. The court also addressed that Director Jordan, a retired police officer, could permissibly carry a weapon, with a permit, pursuant to 2C: 39- 61.
Back to the prior question: What if the newly appointed public safety director is not a retired former officer, but an officer promoted from within the ranks, meaning that he or she is a sworn police officer on leave? According to the ruling in Jordan, it makes no difference:“… we conclude that a municipality cannot accord law enforcement powers to an employee without specific statutory authority …” The complication that we keep coming back to is that there is no statutory authority! There is only the one mentioned above, stating that while it is lawful for a municipality to appoint a director, they have as much police power as any other politically appointed authority( in other words, none).
The day that a sworn officer takes a leave of absence, he or she is in fact, a civilian. Additionally, directors who have not retired cannot carry firearms either, because they are neither sworn nor retired law enforcement officers. Until the legislature enacts
68 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ AUGUST 2017