Police chief says recent budget cutbacks that reduced
staffing levels in the Police Department were a factor
By:Krzysztof Scibiorski
Two Manville police patrolmen, Joseph Buda and Darren DeGraw, were hurt as a drunken driving suspect struggled with them at police headquarters early Saturday.
Reed Kicia, 25, of Somerville was found asleep in his vehicle at the railroad crossing at North 13th Avenue and North Street at approximately 5:50 a.m. Saturday, the police said.
According to police documents, Patrolman Buda, the arresting officer, was attacked by Mr. Kicia as he was processing in the police station.
"The officer at the dispatcher’s desk was able to see what was going on on the video monitor and ran in to help the other officer out," Chief Jack Petrovic explained.
In the ensuing struggle with Mr. Kicia, Patrolman Buda injured his left shoulder and Patrolman DeGraw suffered shoulder and lower back injuries. The suspect was eventually hand-cuffed and was also charged with resisting arrest, Detective Mark Guilbert said.
Following a brief stop at the emergency room of the Somerset Medical Center to ensure his well-being, Mr. Kicia was placed at Somerset County Jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail.
The two injured officers were also treated at the Somerset Medical Center and released. According to Detective Guilbert, neither has returned to duty after suffering the on the job injuries.
At the time three police officers were on duty, Police Chief Jack Petrovic said. One of the officers, Patrolman Buda, transported Mr. Kicia to police headquarters, while the second patrol car stayed with Mr. Kicia’s parked vehicle until it was towed away.
The third officer, Patrolman DeGraw, was at the dispatcher’s desk in the headquarters, Chief Petrovic said.
Chief Petrovic said recent budget cutbacks that forced three officers to retire early and the elimination of two dispatchers were factors in these events. The evening of March 29 was the last day for two of the dispatchers, and Patrolman Frank Bylina’s last day on the force was March 31, the chief said.
"Since Friday was a holiday Good Friday, the dispatcher would not have been working anyway," Chief Petrovic said. "Something like this could have happened even if there were five people here."
Chief Petrovic said that situations where three officers would have to cover the town would persist in the future. "We’re still going to run a four man shift, but with officers going to school, taking vacations and sick time and going to training, we could have three officers on duty 40 percent of the time," Chief Petrovic said Tuesday.
"There’s always a detective on standby to provide immediate assistance to the officers on duty, and all superior officers are on call to fill in as well."