On account of the COVID-19 outbreak, many employers are requiring employees submit to temperature checks prior to entering the place of employment or their specific job. For New Jersey Public Safety Officers, this is no different. To this end, the State of New Jersey and many counties, towns, and municipalities are requiring officers submit to
NJ State Police
Update on Hotels/Housing for First Responders Who May Have Been Exposed to COVID-19
As you are all aware, we recently posted an article about the ability of New Jersey, its counties, and municipalities to house first responders and others who may have been exposed to COVID-19 in hotels and motels at federal expense. Since that time, numerous NJ Public Safety Officers, as well as the Unions that represent…
The Imperfect Practice of Social Distancing for Law Enforcement Officers
As strange as this may sound, I currently feel extremely fortunate that for the past twelve days the attorneys and support personnel within our firm have had the ability to “quarantine” ourselves from the nuclear work space by separating from one another and working from individualized “remote” locations. We took these steps before we were…
Judge Orders the Release of Body Camera Footage Citing an Exception to NJ Supreme Court Decision
Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson most recently ruled that body camera footage can be released under the State’s Open Public Records Act and ordered Burlington County to release a partial police body camera video that the county was attempting to keep private.
The video footage requested involved the interactions of a Kevin Lewis with sheriff’s…
3rd Circuit Rules that Citizens Have The Right to Film Law Enforcement Officers
As reported in the New Jersey Law Journal, in the case entitled Fields v. City of Philadelphia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently joined five other circuits in ruling that the First Amendment protects individuals’ rights to film police officers performing their official duties. The Third Circuit decision involved…
New Jersey State Senate to Vote on Supplemental Appropriations Bill to Pay Public Employees That Were Involuntarily Furloughed
On Thursday, July 13, 2017, The New Jersey State Senate will vote on a supplemental appropriations bill to pay workers who were unable to work during the State governmental shutdown that was imposed over the last July 4th weekend. This bill would amend the 2018 budget appropriations bill to ensure that those workers that were…
Intelligence Sharing Agreement Between Obama and Cuba Fails to Include the Return of Convicted NJ Fugitive that Murdered a NJ State Trooper
As reported in NJ.COM, The head of the New Jersey State Police, Colonel Rick Fuentes, renounced an agreement struck between the Obama administration and Cuba to share information on international criminal activity because it did not require the return of convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard.
Some Republicans also renounced the deal…
Troopers Start Wearing Body Cams
As reported by NJ.com, troopers at three State Police stations began patrolling with body-worn cameras this weekend as the Division prepares to outfit every officer on the road with the technology. Uniformed troopers assigned to Bordentown, Bellmawr, and Red Lion stations turned on their cameras on Saturday as part of an “initial deployment program,”…
NJ Attorney General Announces $550K For Police Body Cameras
As reported by NJ.com, New Jersey’s Attorney General will give out more than half a million dollars in funding for police departments across the State to purchase body-worn cameras. The announcement marks the second round of funding for the devices after the Attorney General’s Office distributed $2.5 million last year amid a climate of…
State Buying 5,000 Body Cameras For 176 NJ Police Departments
As reported by NJ.com, State officials will announce awards to 176 police departments to buy more than 5,000 body cameras, a move they claim puts New Jersey at the “forefront” of states embracing the relatively new technology. Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said that when his office kicked off the $2.5 million program…