The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 7 | Page 4

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | October 2018
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
CHIEF RICHARD J. BUZBY, JR.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR PD
We are just returned from Orlando and, all in all, it was a great conference. First
of all our good friend Chief Paul Cell is now IACP president. As I said to Paul,
anything can, and usually will, happen in the Land of Lincoln! I think he will
continue to be a great friend to us in his home state and I am already working
with him on important initiatives such as an IACP resolution promoting the
greater availability of less lethal devices on a national basis. Paul’s platform was
solid in that he is advocating for Safer Communities, growing the membership
footprint (domestically and internationally), building community trust and
reducing sexual and gender violence.
While we were there our President, Donald J. Trump made a special trip there to address the assembled
chiefs. When he was first elected I, like so many others, did not know what to make of a non-politician
running the affairs of state in Washington. Objectively, some of his methods were odd and some
mannerisms were found problematic by som e. As it turns out, however, I m ust say that it ce rta inly
appears that we in law enforcement have found a new friend in the White House. Attendees heard the
President describe how he has wanted to help such places as the city of Chicago and that he felt that such
tactics as stop and frisk would help such issues as the shooting epidemic there. He continued that he
supported prison reform and that he believed we all had an interest in helping those returning to society
to become productive Americans. He touted the great economic conditions and how this, coupled with
historically low unemployment numbers, was driving crime down and improving the quality of life in our
communities. He stressed the importance, as he saw it, of having strict constructionists on the Supreme
Court and lamented the bruising fight the nation had to undergo to confirm Justice Kavanaugh. He
discussed recent police deaths due to ambush and outright murder and he called for the death penalty for
someone who murders a cop. He discussed how surplus military vehicles had saved thousands in the
aftermath of the Hurricane in North Carolina and how his administration was working hard to get that
equipment into the hands of law enforcement. He discussed how he had recently supported significant
increases in funding to fight the opioid crisis. He then added that he led the fight for more funding for
school security and concluded by thanking us for what we do and promised that he would “have our
backs” come what may. I think it suffices to say that the environment was electric and that almost all
attendees were thrilled by his very positive comments.
The NJSACOP Board took the opportunity recently to meet with top representatives of the state PBA, as
we have tried to do in recent years. The PBA, it seems, has been on top of some of the not-so-great
initiatives being floated in Trenton and seem to have done a great job fighting for the rights of its
members, including most of us. As before, we believed that the conversation was very good and
productive and we were happy with the outcomes.
Enough for now. I’ll write again next month.
Until then, fraternally yours,
Chief Richard J. Buzby, Jr.
NJSACOP President
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