2016 NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar
‘How to get to the finish line’
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ RIGHTS
Stuart J. Alterman, Esq.
Jeffrey S. Ziegelheim, Esq.
Alterman & Associates, LLC
The past eight years, Dan Lorimor has served as a supervisor in
Watchung Local 193, so going into the Seminar, he wondered if
he was as well versed in Officers’ Rights as he once was.
In his 24th year on the job that started going through the Academy with a certain current NJSPBA President, Lorimor, who
served as Local 193 State Delegate for seven years before becoming a supervisor, has a perspective to share with the newer generation of officers:
“It’s very difficult to convey to the younger guys who have less
than five years on,” he offers. “Everything’s going great, maybe
you’re getting married, but you have to keep your eyes on the
prize and look at the big picture.”
Or as presenter Stuart Alterman puts it: “This is to teach you
how to get to the finish line. Whether you’re on the 25-year plan
or the 30-year plan, obstacles are going to come up. This is about
how to protect yourself.”
Alterman covered a few hard truths, especially when it comes to
surviving the fallout of a critical incident:
• Retreat and regroup: If you’re involved in a critical incident,
your mind and heart are racing; you have to get out of dodge.
Get to the hospital for medical attention; call your PBA Rep
who will get an attorney. Don’t get your cousin who does wills.
• Zip it: Don’t tell your rep what happened, because there’s no
confidentiality – you’ll be putting your colleague at risk of
being subpoenaed.
• Know your rights: When confronted by Internal Affairs (IA) ask
if you’re the target of a criminal or administrative investigation.
If yes, walk away.
• The no-friend zone: Remember, the IA Investigator is there to
do a job, not maintain a friendship. Be careful because everything is on the record.
• Sorry mom: In order to stay out of hot water when under interrogation, if it means giving up your mother, you give up your
mother.
“It’s unfortunate,” Alterman relates. “But we need to be our own
best advocate; our own best protector.”
‘You have to be a choreographer’
BODY CAMERAS
Merick H. Limsky, Esq.
Limsky & Mitolo
As the implementation of body-worn cameras continues to
roll, Monmouth County Detectives Local 256 Vice-President
Andrea Tozzi recalls her early days as a patrol officer getting acclimated to another new piece of tech.
“In the beginning (of vehicle dash cameras), everyone was up
in arms,” she recalls. “But it’s saved more officers than it’s hurt
because people can’t get away with making false allegations.”
The final session acknowledged the inevitability of using body
cams; so much so that attorney Merick Limsky cut the “why or
how we got here” conversation in favor of the more practical
“what are the issues going to be?”
“Like when cameras were put in cars, body cameras are going
to both solve and raise a number of issues,” Limsky acknowledged.
Emphasizing Tozzi’s point about false allegations, Limsky
noted that when citizens know they are being filmed, outside
complaints went down. However, internal complaints increased.
The good news is that the NJ State Legislature recently shut
down a mandatory ruling on departments being forced to adopt
body cameras, instead leaving the decision up to individual agencies. Limsky advises that until the issues are ironed out, “if your
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FEBRUARY 2016
PBA can keep them out for now,
keep them out.”
Limsky presented three categories that need to be addressed
before he would recommend
implementing body-worn cameras: When to activate, when to
deactivate, and how to retain
recordings. Just within the first
category, a number of questions
arise:
• With multiple officers each
wearing cameras with
microphones recording at
the same location, how do
you avoid audio interference?
• If guidelines force officers to ensure capturing every detail of
an encounter, they will have to be like choreographers moving
people around to get the right angle. Will that distract them
from doing their jobs?
• Officers have to inform citizens they’re being recorded, which
is easy if it’s one guy on a traffic stop. But what if you have a
blockade and there are 100 witnesses – do you need to use a
bullhorn to announce everyone is being recorded?
“Once they get through the idiotic policies and iron out the
bumps, it will probably benefit more than hurt,” Tozzi predicts. “My
biggest concern is for officer safety. If I’m going up to a hot call, is
my mind going to be on the incident or the camera?”