Borough of Palmyra, NJ Removal; Suspension; Fines; Reduction From Office

Charges and investigation.

Filing of charges: Borough Clerk.

No person. whether officer or employee, in such Department shall be suspended. removed, fined or reduced from office or employment herein except for just cause as hereinbefore provided and then only after written charge or charges of the cause or causes of the complaint shall have been preferred against such officer or employee in said Police Department, signed by the Chief of Police or designee, except in the case of the Chief of Police, in which case any Lieutenant or Sergeant making such charge or charges, in the office of the Clerk of the Borough of Palmyra.

(b)

Said written charge(s) shall be typed or legibly handwritten and shall include a designation of the alleged violation and a specification of sufficient detail outlining the facts of such alleged violation. The Clerk may refuse to accept and process any charges that are deemed not in compliance with the provisions set forth above. A copy of the complete charge(s) shall be provided to the Chief of Police within three working days.

(2)

Investigation, review and certification of charges: Borough Chief of Police.

(a)

Except in matters where the Chief of Police has been charged, said written charge(s) shall be investigated by the Chief of Police or his designee and the Public Safety Committee of Council. If, after a review of the investigation by the Chief of Police and the Public Safety Committee of Council, sufficient cause is found to exist, the Chief of Police shall cause a copy of the charge(s), signed by the Chief of Police, to be served upon the member or officer charged, with notice of a designated hearing which shall be held in accordance with state statute not less than 10 nor more than 30 days from the date of the service of the charges or complaint. A complaint charging a violation of the internal rules and regulations established for the conduct of a law enforcement unit shall be filed no later than the 45th day after the date on which the person filing the complaint obtained sufficient information to file the matter upon which the complaint is based. The forty-five-day time limit shall not apply if an investigation of a law enforcement officer for a violation of the internal rules or regulations of the law enforcement unit is included directly or indirectly within a concurrent investigation of that officer for a violation of the criminal laws of this state. The forty-five-day limit shall begin on the day after the disposition of the criminal investigation. The forty-five-day requirement of this subsection for the filing of a complaint against an officer shall not apply to a filing of a complaint by a private individual. A failure to comply with said provisions as to the service of the complaint and the time within which a complaint is to be filed shall require a dismissal of the complaint.

(b)

In any matter where the Chief of Police is charged, the Clerk shall transmit the complete charge(s) directly to the governing body within three working days. The governing body shall appoint an investigator who shall thereafter proceed pursuant to the provisions of this section.

It is intended by this section to give any person against whom a charge or charges may be preferred for any cause under this article a fair trial upon said charge or charges and every reasonable opportunity to make his defense, if any he has or chooses to make. In the event of failure of compliance with any provision in this section, such charge or charges shall be dismissed.

The governing body, by motion or resolution, shall have the authority to suspend, with or without pay, any member or officer against whom charges have been made as aforesaid pending hearing and final disposition of the charges as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:14-149 and 40A:14-149.1.

The governing body shall be the sole authority for the imposition of any discipline against an officer or employee of the Police Department, and it shall, in its sole discretion to be exercised by motion or resolution, either constitute itself as a committee of the whole to hear the charges brought pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-147, or it may delegate the hearing function to an independent hearing officer or one or more members of the Borough designated as a hearing tribunal. All charges against a member or officer of the Police Department and any charge made against the Chief of Police shall be heard either by the governing body, an independent hearing officer or a hearing tribunal as heretofore authorized.

Except in matters where the Chief of Police has been charged, at the hearing of the complaint or charges, the matter may be presented to the hearing tribunal by the Chief of Police with or without assistance of special counsel to be appointed by the governing body, or it may be presented by special counsel appointed by the governing body for that purpose. The person charged shall have the right to be represented by counsel at the hearing and shall be afforded all appropriate due process, including but not limited to the right to be represented by an attorney of choice at his own expense, the ability to present evidence and witnesses on his behalf, the right to face and question the accuser(s) and witness(es), the right to discovery and having the burden of proof rest with the charging party, and, as in all civil matters, the level of proof shall be by preponderance of the totality of the evidence in the matter. The hearing tribunal or hearing officer may be represented and advised at the hearing by the Office of the Municipal Attorney, in the discretion of the governing body.

In matters where the Chief of Police has been charged, the appointed investigators shall present the matter to the hearing tribunal. No member of the governing body appointed as said investigator shall serve as a member of the hearing tribunal. The hearing officer or tribunal shall make findings of fact and shall present to the governing body a determination of innocence or guilt as to each of the specified charges. The governing body shall have the sole and final authority to impose discipline upon any employee or member of the Police Department as set forth in Appendix A annexed hereto and made a part hereof.[1] The disciplinary penalty imposed for multiple infractions arising from the same incident shall be consecutive.

[1]

Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

The governing body shall cause the hearing to be recorded verbatim either stenographically or through audio-electronic means, and the tapes or notes of the hearing shall be preserved and transcribed so that they shall be available for review by the members of the governing body. Prior to imposing any discipline upon an employee or member of the Police Department, the governing body member voting on the issue shall review either the transcript or the tapes of the disciplinary hearing unless he was physically present throughout the entire hearing and so certified.

After conducting the hearing itself, or after reviewing the transcript of the hearing or listening to the audio tapes of the hearing and reviewing the findings of fact and recommendations of the hearing officer or tribunal, if any, the governing body shall, by resolution, specify what discipline, as set forth in Appendix A annexed hereto and made a part hereof,[2] shall be imposed upon the person or persons charged.

[2]

Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

All charges of a criminal nature shall be referred to the appropriate law enforcement authority.