Police unions celebrate order temporarily blocking Grewal directive in Paterson

Three police unions celebrated a temporary injunction halting the ordered release of officers who have been fired, demoted or suspended for five or more days Wednesday.

The State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the Paterson PBA Local 1 and the city’s PBA Supervisory Officers Association Local 1 celebrated a temporary injunction issued by the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission that stopped Paterson from releasing the names of officers who have faced major disciplinary action over the past 20 years.

“The Public Employment Relations Commission Order is not about protecting bad cops. No one, including us, wants a bad cop in our ranks,” the unions said in a joint statement. “But releasing information from an officer’s personnel file should involve a measured approach rather than a blanket document dump that does not tell a complete story about an officer or his or her ability to serve the public honorably.”

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal last week issued a directive ordering state, county and local law enforcement agencies to disclose the identities of officers who are terminated, demoted or suspended for five or more days as part of a disciplinary proceeding.