Change in Siren Policy for South Jersey Police Departments After Fatal Accident Involving 10-Year-Old

Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton announced a new policy for responding to emergency calls about three months after a 10-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a Franklin Township Police Officer who was responding to an emergency call.

Under the new policy, dispatched police patrol vehicles will be required to use emergency warning devices (lights and sirens) when exceeding a road’s posted speed limit by 20 miles per hour or more.

Police departments will be permitted to impose the emergency device requirement at a speed less than 20 miles over the posted limit but not more than 20 mph faster than the limit.

The new policy is to be implemented by all police departments in Gloucester County by May 1.

Violations will be subject to the disciplinary process in place in each police department.

Franklin Township Patrolman Nicholas Locilento was going 74 mph when he was responding to a call for an unruly juvenile on Dec. 28, 2014.

Under the old policy, police officers are not required to activate their emergency warning devices when responding to non-emergent police responses.

This is a non-emergency call requiring an immediate response to prevent incidents from escalating into situations that may require a higher level of police response.

He hit 10-year-old Matthew McCloskey while McCloskey was crossing Route 47. McCloskey was pronounced dead at the scene.

In January, Locilento was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident, but Dalton said his office would undertake a review to see if revisions should be made in non-emergent police responses are needed. He said he would specifically look at the use of warning devices.

Six days after he was cleared, Michelle Harding announced her intent to sue Franklin Township over her son’s death.

“The purpose of this update is two-fold,” Dalton said in a letter to police chiefs throughout the county. “First, to ensure the safety of all citizens, residents and police officers alike, in situations where police are responding to calls for service. Our police officers are tasked with carrying out many different responsibilities when they provide assistance to our communities and this update will provide clarification when they perform these duties.

“Second, to provide for standardization of the police response mode throughout the county, which will take advantage of Gloucester County’s county-wide dispatch system and facilitate timely communication between police and dispatchers. This will further assist in mutual aid situations involving multiple agency response.”

The non-emergency response is one of three response classifications. Dalton provided details on the classifications and updated guidelines:

Priority 1 (Emergency Response): Personnel utilizing a “Priority 1” response will proceed directly to the location as quickly as is safely possible and will use both emergency lights and siren, except when doing so would diminish the element of surprise that is desired when responding to certain types of crimes in progress. Emergency warning devices may be deactivated a reasonable distance from the scene (to be determined by the vehicle operator) so as to not alert subjects to law enforcement’s proximity.

Priority 2 (Non-Emergency Response / Routine Response): Personnel utilizing a “Priority 2” response will respond directly to the assignment without unreasonable delay. While en route, the vehicle’s emergency warning lights and siren may be utilized when necessary.

Priority 3 (General Service Response / Non-Priority Response): Personnel utilizing a “Priority 3” response will proceed to the call without unreasonable delay, but will be available to respond to calls of a more serious nature and to take other enforcement action that will not result in an untimely response. A response to a general service call involves no emergency lights or sirens. It is a normal traffic speed response where all traffic laws are obeyed.

All law enforcement departments will be required to conduct a supervisory review of their motor vehicle responses no less than every 90 days.

The change in policy came following the review and with input from he Gloucester County Police Chief Association Executive Board, Department of Criminal Justice and Gloucester County Emergency Services.

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