PRINCETON: Boro police chief says he’s short-staffed

By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
   Princeton Borough’s police force is operating at a 20 percent staff deficiency, the result of suspensions, resignations and authorized medical leave of seven officers.
   According to a list of officers and their status as of Dec. 31, 2008, obtained from the borough through a public record filing, three officers — Kevin Creegan, James Dodd and Kenneth Riley — are suspended and two — Sean McNeff and William Perez — have resigned. Two more are on medical leave and are listed as active. Fully staffed, the police force numbers 34.
   Princeton Borough Police Chief Anthony Federico confirmed an additional borough police officer is the subject of an internal probe while remaining on active duty. He declined to name the officer or describe the nature of the probe. Chief Federico said two officers were out because of surgery and would be back in the next few weeks.
   Chief Federico said patrol officers, Mr. Dodd and Mr. McNeff, “were the subjects of an internal investigation that was sent to the Mercer County prosecutor’s office” at the end of last year. Chief Federico said “the two officers committed the same type of infraction,” but declined to specify the infraction.
   After being informed their cases had been sent to the prosecutor’s office, Officer McNeff resigned, and Officer Dodd was suspended without pay, Chief Federico said. Officer Dodd has been charged with official misconduct and perjury by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, he said.
   In September, the prosecutor’s office indicted Sgt. Riley on six felony charges for allegedly accessing his department’s video record database without authorization and showing other officers what he saw in order to adversely affect another officer’s standing.
   Patrolman Perez and Sgt. Creegan were subjects of the same prosecutor’s office probe. Patrolman Perez resigned from the force in mid-December, and charges are not being pursued in his case. The prosecutor’s office declined to indict Sgt. Creegan, who is the subject of a borough administrative hearing.
   ”Obviously, I am concerned when officers do things that are illegal and when they get themselves involved in illegal activities,” said Chief Federico.
   He had no ability to stop the activity at the time, Chief Federico said.
   ”They chose to do what they did,” he said.
   Princeton Borough Council has been debating the subject and its implications in closed session. Publicly, Borough Council members expressed concern with the staff deficiency, but said there was no threat to public safety in the borough.
   ”Obviously, I am deeply troubled by the problems we are facing on the Police Department, and it is a cause of great concern to all members of Borough Council,” said Councilman Kevin Wilkes.
   ”Of course, I’m troubled,” said Councilman David Goldfarb. “I think all of us are concerned, but I’m not going to criticize actions taken by the police chief and the leadership of the police force without knowing a lot more.”
   ”I have no reason to believe there is a public safety problem,” because of the understaffed force, Councilman Roger Martindell said.
   But the situation begged a series of questions Mr. Martindell said Borough Council should publicly address, including whether council members should have a greater role in the decisions on officer suspension and how to proceed administratively in matters of alleged misconduct.
   ”I think we do need to take a closer look at what has been happening, and we have been taking a closer look,” said Borough Council President Andrew Koontz.
   Mayor Mildred Trotman and council members Margaret Karcher and Barbara Trelstad did not return calls seeking comment.
   ”This is an issue that has consumed us along with the budget in great detail over the past two months,” said Mr. Wilkes.
   He said the Borough council was engaged in discussions on “how to better manage our Police Department.”
   Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Goldfarb noted it was unfortunate given the circumstances that municipal regulations set the Borough Council as the final body of appeal for officers who have been disciplined administratively because council members are precluded from getting involved in the cases when they are in process.
   ”We are frustrated that our role has been limited, and we have so little control,” Mr. Goldfarb said.
   He said he was interested in removing the council from its adjudicatory role so it could more actively participate in case decisions as the cases occurred.
   Chief Federico said, despite the reduced staffing, “I am covering all shifts right now.”
   One officer has been taken off detective duty for patrol duty, the three-officer community policing unit has been disbanded to fill other posts, and time off requests are reduced to a minimum, he said.
   Additional overtime pay for officers filling in are not significant at present, said Chief Federico.
   ”At this point it hasn’t been burdensome; it could be in the future,” he said. “We are doing a hiring process now. I’m not sure how many people we are going to hire.”
   Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Martindell noted if the borough police force was able to function with such a diminished staff capacity, given the difficult budgetary climate, the Borough council should look into whether some permanent reduction in the force was appropriate going forward.
   If 34 officers previously was considered ideal, and the force is able to “muddle through” without seven officers, “my hunch is there is a middle ground” in staffing the police force, Mr. Wilkes said.
   ”It raises the question whether we overstaffed previously, and that’s a good question to raise in terms of the 2009 budget,” Mr. Martindell said.