Crime & Safety
Hoboken City Council Approves Police Chief's 3-Year Contract
Several officials had engaged in a back-and-forth on Twitter over the details for most of Tuesday.
HOBOKEN, NJ — The Hoboken City Council voted 9-0 on Wednesday to approve a three-year contract for Police Chief Ken Ferrante.
Mayor Ravi Bhalla Tweeted:
I’m thrilled that #Hoboken will now have Chief @KenFerrante at the helm of the @HobokenPD for a full three years thanks to the newly adopted contract.
— Ravinder S. Bhalla (@RaviBhalla) July 30, 2020
The matter had become controversial, with officials going back and forth on Twitter on the contract details (and the chief finally chiming in).
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On Monday, Bhalla sent a letter to the council members saying, "He has been our crucial partner in keeping our city safe, and even more so now during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, during which he had been on duty for 92/95 days (without overtime, for which he is ineligible for). During his six years, Hoboken has seen a reduction in almost all major crime categories. ... This year, Chief Ferrante and the Hoboken Police Department met all eight 'use of force' policies established by '8 can’t wait' and has not had a single civil suit or criminal complaint against any of officers for excessive force for the past six years."
Bhalla had said he objected to a resolution introduced by Councilmember Tiffanie Fisher at the last meeting which would cut the proposed contract from three to two years. This would mean whoever is elected mayor in 2021 could work on a new contract or other changes.
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Fisher had tweeted earlier this month that her suggested renegotiations were an attempt to save money at a tough time, and to put a future decision in the hands of the winner of the next election.
She and other officials had engaged in a Twitter kerfuffle about the matter in early July and again on Tuesday.
One commenter Tweeted about the back-and-forth: "This is really childish, super political and only makes things worse."
Ferrante defended and detailed his record on Tuesday:
Double digit decrease in crime in every category in 2019. Not one penny paid in civil liability by our department during my tenure. Preventive measures taken before the state helped keep our Hoboken COVID numbers low and only 3 HPD officers became ill. Managed the largest protest
— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) July 28, 2020
At the end of Tuesday, Fisher said on Twitter that she would vote for the chief's contract, whether two or three years.
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