Looks like Morristown PBA Local 43 and town officials won’t have any trouble keeping their distance on Thanksgiving.
Their war of words grew louder on Wednesday, with a statement from Mayor Tim Dougherty’s office blasting a PBA lawsuit as a “patently false…bullying tactic” meant to sway public support for police in their contract talks with the town.
The PBA alleges that officers were assigned to late-night foot patrols last month as punishment for balking at town pressure to write more tickets to boost pandemic-sapped municipal coffers.
These claims are fabricated, the lawsuit is frivolous, and the case will be defended vigorously, contends the town, which labeled the suit an “optics campaign” intended to “extort” a better contract.
“To be unequivocally clear; at no point has the Town or Bureau acted to ‘punish’ PBA Local 43 or its leadership under any alleged ‘quota’ system,” maintains the joint statement from the administration and the police bureau.
It goes on:
“The PBA leadership has acknowledged in prior meetings with the Town that this is purely an optics campaign meant to sway public opinion to engender support for their present posture in ongoing negotiations for a new union contract. The Town will not bend to this bullying tactic through the spread of misinformation seeking to extort a favorable new contract. Our residents and community deserve better.”
PBA President Dennis Bergman countered that no arbitrations or mediations are underway, nor have any negotiations been requested. If police wanted to improve their bargaining position, he said, they would have churned out tickets for the town.
“Quotas break down the relationship between the police and the citizens and we do not want to take part in that conduct,” Bergman told Morristown Green. “Our lawsuit asks only for the town’s conduct to stop, fair treatment of our members, and to ensure the town no longer influences the day to day operations of our department.”
Stay tuned.
Below is the full statement.
This article has been updated to include a response from the PBA.
A Statement from the Town of Morristown & Morristown Police Bureau
The Administration of the Town of Morristown is compelled to inform the public about the published misinformation regarding an ongoing matter between the Morristown Police Bureau and Morristown PBA Local 43.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, the Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 43 filed a lawsuit against the Town of Morristown falsely asserting that the Morristown Police Bureau and the Town punished officers for failing to abide by a purported ticket-quota system. That is patently false.
This frivolous lawsuit will be vigorously defended and the fabricated claims upon which it is based will be revealed. To be unequivocally clear; at no point has the Town or Bureau acted to ‘punish’ PBA Local 43 or its leadership under any alleged ‘quota’ system.
Having worked for years to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with all members of the PBA Local 43, this lawsuit is quite alarming as the claims asserted are wholly inconsistent with reality. The Town of Morristown and the Morristown Police Bureau intend to successfully prove this in court.
The PBA leadership has acknowledged in prior meetings with the Town that this is purely an optics campaign meant to sway public opinion to engender support for their present posture in ongoing negotiations for a new union contract. The Town will not bend to this bullying tactic through the spread of misinformation seeking to extort a favorable new contract. Our residents and community deserve better.