Crime & Safety
Police Department Has 'Grown Stronger' Since Affirmative Action Investigation: Cops
The Wyckoff PBA Local 261 expressed its appreciation for officials' support during a state-mandated investigation of the department.
WYCKOFF, N.J. — The township police department has “grown stronger” and is “re-energized” under new leadership following the suspension of Chief Benjamin Fox following a state investigation into affirmative action allegations.
Officer Kevin Pinches, president of the Wyckoff Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 261, wrote a letter to Mayor Kevin Rooney thanking him, and other municipal officials for their support during the investigation.
“We want to ensure you that at no time during these past months did our commitment to protecting the residents of Wyckoff ever waver,” Pinches stated in the letter. “In fact, while under the leadership of Lt. [Charles] Van Dyk and Lt. [David] Murphy, this department has grown stronger and reenergized after years of dormancy.”
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Rooney said at a meeting Tuesday that, "we've always had faith in our department and we continue to have that faith."
The Township Committee demoted Fox earlier this month after investigators found that an email Fox wrote advocating racial profiling violated a state attorney general’s directive banning the practice.
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Fox, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, was knocked down to patrolman and suspended for 180 days without pay.
Fox agreed to temporarily step down from his position in March during the Attorney General's office investigation into the email sent in 2014 that said racial profiling has its place in law enforcement.
Fox asked to go on immediate administrative leave while the investigation was pending; the committee unanimously agreed to the request.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the email from what it said was an anonymous source, criticized the email and demanded Fox be fired.
VanDyk is the officer in charge of the department in Fox's absence. A state-appointed monitor from the Attorney General's Office has been keeping tabs on thte department since the investigation began.
Pinches said the union is looking forward to working together to “provide a police service that exceeds the expectations of the residents of Wyckoff.”
“We truly believe that our potential has yet to be seen,” Pinches stated.
Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com
Related: Wyckoff Police Chief Steps Down Amid Racial Profiling Investigation
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