It is the intent of this article to give an accused member an informal preliminary hearing in order to weed out minor or unjustified complaints and a full and fair trial thereafter if the member so demands or of the Police Committee deems it necessary, with every lawful opportunity to make the member's defense.
Any officer or member of the Police Department shall be subject to reprimand, fine, suspension from duty or reduction in rank, according to the nature or seriousness of the offense, for any violation of this article or of the rules, regulations or orders of the Department and particularly for the following:
A. 
Intoxication.
B. 
Disobedience of orders.
C. 
Sleeping while on duty.
D. 
Absence from post of duty unless properly relieved.
E. 
Immorality, indecency or lewdness.
F. 
Lack of energy or gross ignorance of the laws, rules, regulations and orders of the Department.
G. 
Frequenting, except on police business, any gambling house or house of ill fame or visiting while in uniform or on duty, except on police business, any tavern or liquor store.
H. 
Conviction of any criminal law.
I. 
Making known any proposed action or movement of the Police Department or contents of any order, other than to persons immediately concerned in their execution.
J. 
Conduct subversive of good order and the discipline of the Police Department.
K. 
Accepting a bribe or favor as a consideration either for the performance or nonperformance of the member's duty.
L. 
Failure to report for duty and work shifts as assigned.
M. 
Failure to report a known violation of any law or ordinance of the Borough.
N. 
Abuse of police cars or other equipment.
No member shall be dismissed from the Police Department for any cause other than incapacity, either mental or physical; misconduct; nonresidence in the Borough, as modified under state law; or disobedience of any provisions of this article or the rules and regulations of the Department.
Any person desiring to make a complaint against a member of the Police Department shall do so in writing within 30 days from the date of the alleged offense and not thereafter.
Such complaint shall specify in detail the nature of the alleged offense, the date thereof and any witnesses thereto, and a copy shall be delivered to the Police Commissioner or a Deputy Police Commissioner. A copy thereof shall be served upon the accused promptly after the filing thereof.
The Police Committee shall forthwith meet privately and consider the charges preliminarily and give the accused member the right to be heard in the member's behalf. The Committee may, if it deems the matter a minor one, invoke any appropriate penalty with the concurrence in writing of the accused member. The member shall, however, have the right, if he or she does not concur, to demand a formal hearing of the charges before the entire Council.
If the accused member demands a formal hearing or if the Police Committee considers the matter of sufficient importance, the Committee may, if it sees fit, temporarily suspend the accused member from duty without pay pending a formal hearing, and it shall forthwith forward the matter to the Council for action.
[Amended 8-12-2009 by Ord. No. 09-06-1374]
The Council, upon request for a formal hearing, shall call a formal hearing, upon not less than 15 nor more than 30 days' written notice to the accused member, and shall publicly examine into the charges. If the charge against the accused officer constitutes major discipline, which shall be any discipline of five days' suspension or more, the Borough Attorney and the attorney for the local PBA unit, during said period of 15 to 30 days, shall confer and agree upon a neutral third party to act as hearing officer for such formal hearing. Should the attorneys be unable to agree upon a neutral third party, the Borough Attorney shall petition the Assignment Judge of the Superior Court, Bergen County, to appoint such a hearing officer. Such appointment shall be binding upon the Borough, the accused member and the local PBA unit. Should the Assignment Judge refuse to appoint such neutral third party, the attorneys shall confer again and, if they are still unable to agree upon a neutral third party within seven days, the Council shall be free to choose a hearing officer.
The Council shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses to give testimony concerning the matter, and any person failing to obey a subpoena shall be subject to such penalties as are provided by law.
The Police Committee, after an informal preliminary hearing, may, with the concurrence of the accused member, and the Council shall, upon finding of guilt of the accused, after a trial, impose such penalty as in their judgment is warranted by the character and seriousness of the offense. The penalty imposed may be a reprimand, loss of pay, suspension from duty without pay, reduction in rank or dismissal from the Department.
Upon a judgment of suspension or dismissal, the accused member shall deliver to the Police Commissioner the badge and any public property in the member's possession.
In the event that a member temporarily suspended without pay shall be found not guilty, any back pay withheld from the member shall be restored to the member forthwith.