Condition of cop cars
creating a conundrum
SHREWSBURY — The safety and reliability of the borough’s fleet of police cars has been brought into question by the president of the local Policeman’s Benevolent Association, sparking a dialogue with the Borough Council’s police committee.
Patrolman Daniel J. Lloyd, president of PBA Local 308, charged in a letter to Mayor Emilia Siciliano that three of the five patrol vehicles in the department’s fleet were not available for use as of June 23, and that one of the two remaining vehicles had numerous dashboard warning lights on, indicating problems existed that were being ignored.
Lloyd also cited problems with other nonpatrol vehicles including the failure, twice, of an unmarked "radar car," used in traffic enforcement, to pass inspection. He said the car has to be driven in the rain without any windshield wipers, a violation of the laws the borough police are supposed to enforce.
"The standing mayor’s order that it not be used to pursue violators may lend credence to the fact that it is in awful condition," he said.
Police Chief John D. Wilson III, who also was sent a copy of the letter, disputed the allegations and said Lloyd’s missive contained inaccuracies.
"All the cars have passed inspection," he said. "The one car he mentioned failed twice because the third brake light was burned out and not replaced, and that’s the oldest car in the fleet," he added, noting it’s a vehicle on which a radar is mounted that tells approaching drivers how fast they’re going.
"The guys like to call it the stealth car," he said. "In a pinch, they’ll use it to go to schools."
Wilson said the police cars do not represent a threat to the police officers who drive them or to the motoring public. He also observed that the police department hasn’t been allotted a new car in the last two budgets.
"Do I think we should have gotten cars? Yes," Wilson said. "But I’m only looking out for my outfit and not thinking of the taxpayer."
Siciliano said the letter should not have been directed to her but should have gone to the police committee, headed by Councilman Terel Cooperhouse.
Under the law, she said, anything that occurs in the police department or is brought to its attention is to go to the chief and then the police committee.
Siciliano said on Tuesday the letter was immediately referred to the police committee, and the committee responded in 24 hours.
"The police committee already has taken steps to respond to the concerns expressed in the letter," she said.
Cooperhouse could not be reached before deadline for detailed comment, but Constance Lauffer, the borough administrator, said the police committee had met with the PBA. Lauffer said she would defer to Cooperhouse to report on what transpired at that meeting.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Cooperhouse made only a passing reference to the situation, saying that all the police cars had been fixed.
Lloyd, in his letter, hearkened back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when the police department acquisition and maintenance schedules had to be rethought after summonses were issued by neighboring police departments to borough police cars because they were unsafe for operation on public roads.
"We are nearing a similar situation," he warned. "Limiting an officer’s ability to pursue offenders is not far off. As it stands now, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s policy for vehicular pursuits states that officers must weigh the police vehicle’s condition when deciding whether or not to pursue an offender.
"More and more," he said, "officers will be deciding not to pursue offenders due to the increased risk to officers, offenders and other motorists."
Wilson recalled that in the late 1970s, a borough police car received a ticket for an inspection violation from a neighboring town when Raymond "Bucky" Mass was the police chief. He said when matters got a lot worse, Mass issued a directive for officers not to drive over 40 miles an hour in the cars.
"We have a policy with our vehicles," Wilson said of the present day situation. "If you have a problem with your car, you take it out of service."
The chief said the borough employs two auto mechanics to service the police cars, the Public Works Department fleet of vehicles and the fire department and first aid squad vehicles. He said the mechanics are kept busy between servicing the four agencies.
Lloyd, who stressed that his letter was not a grievance initiation letter, said a detective’s unmarked vehicle that was obtained through forfeiture recently was painted to cover the "deplorable deterioration" of the car’s body. He said on several occasions patrol vehicles had to be towed from the roadway or repaired by unqualified officers on the roadside to get them running, and that a neighboring department had to cover a domestic assault incident once when the car being driven by the borough’s responding officer lost its brakes and struck a sign.
"Fortunately," he said, "the officer’s driving skill helped him avoid a more devastating crash."
Police Chief Wilson said the detective’s car that needed the paint work had a defect in the paint and the department received a callback on it, but Ford wouldn’t honor it, "so we had it painted." He also said that despite Lloyd’s assertions, the police department has not been at a loss for enough cars to cover patrols. As for the accident resulting from bad brakes, Wilson said he could find no report on it so he couldn’t comment.
"When a car breaks down, yes, we tow it if we cannot push it to headquarters," he added. "You can always get a lemon, and that can throw in a wrench."
Wilson said that for a while, after the problems of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the borough bought new police cars every year — alternating between two in one year and one in the next year. He also said the department has gone more than two years in the recent past without purchasing a new car.
The chief released a list of the 10 vehicles operated by the police department which showed the oldest, used for the DARE program, prisoner transport and emergencies, dates back to 1988. The detective car acquired through forfeiture is a 1992 model. The chief’s car, also acquired through forfeiture, also is a 1992 model. The unmanned stationary radar car dates back to 1994.
The five road vehicles are from 1997, 1998, 1999, and two are from 2000, according to the list. A backup road vehicle is a 1997 model.
"Yes, we have some problems," Wilson said, "but everyone has problems. Our cars are old and should be replaced, but we’ll get through it."
Lloyd wrote in his letter that the penny-pinching by the borough may be adversely affecting the safety of police officers and the motoring public.
"I also think that risking taxpayer money on costly litigation stemming from inadequate equipment and maintenance is an unnecessary risk," he wrote. "I can certainly foresee the borough and council members being named as defendants if an officer or citizen was to be injured due to their negligence. I would much rather see the borough use a little money to properly acquire and maintain equipment than be forced to pay an astronomical amount for a negligence lawsuit defense," Lloyd
Wilson said his officers are well-equipped, have mobile vision cameras, hand-held wands for detecting weapons on those they stop, upgraded computers to obtain the information they need and equipment to hold restrained prisoners in the seat where they are placed.
"With some recent rescheduling, most of our cars run only 16 hours a day, whereas it used to be 24," he said. "I think only one is run 24 hours now."