Paterson special police officers prepared for deployment

The long-awaited special police officers who will play a pivotal role in curbing quality-of-life crimes and other ordinance violations in the city are expected for deployment on Monday, according to city officials.

25 special police officers will join the force, said police director Jerry Speziale. The director said the specials serve under the city police traffic division. “They will be deployed in all the business areas throughout the city,” said Speziale. He said they will also be deployed at parks.

“This will have a great positive impact on the parks,” said Alex Mendez, councilman at-large, on Tuesday evening. He said Pennington Park and Eastside Park will each have a dedicated special police officer on a cart patrolling to protect residents.

“A lot of people complain they don’t feel secure in the park,” said Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman, 2nd Ward councilman, who serves as the chairman of the council’s public safety committee. He said parents with children often say they do not feel safe visiting local parks.

The lack of security at city parks was underscored by a recent incident involving councilwoman Maritza Davila’s son. Davila’s son was at Pennington Park on Friday afternoon playing soccer with his friends when a man approached, snatched his backpack, and ran with it.

“There was no security there, there was no police or anything,” said Davila. “They [children] should be able to feel safe in the park. This happened to my child and this could happen to anyone else’s child. I want to see more security.”

The director said the special police will have two kubotas, all-terrain vehicles that are similar to golf carts, which will be used to patrol the two parks.

Ruby Cotton, 4th Ward councilwoman, wanted more security at Wrigley Park, where she said people hang around late into the night. She wanted her park to get an unit like the aforementioned parks.

Akhtaruzzaman said the specials will deter drug users from the parks. He said at present there are individuals who hang about the park smoking marijuana. The specials will be able to issue tickets for various ordinance violations like loud music, panhandling, and parking violations, said Speziale.

Before they can start enforcing the law the 25 still have some training left. They must undergo training with Narcan, an anti-overdose spray, mace, and baton training, said the director. Those three areas will be covered in training sessions on Saturday before their assignment on Monday, said Speziale.

The original ordinance adopted more than nine-months ago called for 50 special police officers who are not allowed to carry firearms. The specials will be equipped with mace, batons, and bullet proof vests, according to city officials.

They will be working part-time 20 hours a week at $15 per hour. For the first few weeks the 25 specials, who will be joined by an additional 25 special police officers at some point in the future, will learn while on duty. They will learn to write tickets and reports, said the director.

After the ordinance passed and the specials got their passing marks on the exams there was not much in terms of updates on the special police officers until last week when mayor Jose “Joey” Torres inquired about the program’s status.

Torres’ follow-up got the ball rolling on the special police officers program. City officials are betting big on the special, class-one, police officers to take on quality-of-life issues that often cannot be addressed by regular police officers who are occupied with much more serious crimes.

“They will be an integral part, as the eyes and ears, of the police department,” said Speziale. “They will help to assist in making a better quality of life for the citizens of Paterson.”

Kary Testino

IF this isn't a political patronage job….
- tom lawler
  
  Its not a political patronage job. Every candidate had to take an exam and receive a passing score. Then, each candidate was ranked according to their score.
  - Kary Testino
    
    it's a political patronage job… the test was a total joke.
    - NP
      
      Kary,
      
      I would love to hear more about your view on this political patronage. Have you seen the test?
      - Kary Testino
        
        It's a political patronage job.. it's NJ, deal with it.
      - NP
        
        Dear Kary,
        
        I am doing research on this issue. I went to the PD to get information on the training and examination for this position as was blatantly ignored by the 6 officers there.
        
        Would you be willing to speak to me about this?
      - tom lawler
        
        NP, I took the exam. I passed the exam. Whats your question?
      - NP
        
        I actually have a lot of questions. I want to know, as the average citizen might, about what training and qualifications their law enforcement agents possess. I'm curious about the contents of the required examination as well as the the training program and other required components to be hired in these positions.
      - Dane G.
        
        in all honestly I'm not surprised you got ignored by 6 officers , they just want people who can easily become their puppet , the qualifications required a high school diploma or equivalent .. clearly no history of crimes etc.. and before all of that you had to pass an exam and you were based off of your score ,and i might be missing something out not too sure, you got a background check as well and than an interview date with some higher ranking officers , the interview was based off if they like you or not , not your history or experience even though that's what they preached
      - tom lawler
        
        Ok NP, here's the deal. Once a candidate has gone thru a comprehensive background check. oral review board interview, two psychological exams, drug screening and a medical exam, you are accepted into the police academy for about three weeks. Included in the training is baton training, handcuffing and OC training. Also included is first aid and Narcan training. In addition, you learn the law. I hope that answers your question. As you can tell, this is far from a patronage job as some have suggested.
      - Kary Testino
        
        Your background check was only for 7 years, the oral review board was a simple interview and not every candidate had one. The psychological exam was half the questions that a real officer would go through but the drug screening and medical is standard, nothing special that any employee for the city goes through. You are not going to a police academy because you are not going to be police officers, you are going through a simple class one program. Paterson lost it's PTC certification so they cannot have a police academy, the certification you get is only good for Paterson and maybe Haledon if you wish to go there. First aid training is standard, the Nasal Narcan training is a plus but any monkey can learn it. IF they liked you and thought you weren't going to be some hotshot wanna be cop they took you. There is a 50/50 chance this might grow to a class 2 program but I highly doubt the Paterson PBA will allow that. Take the money and hire REAL officers and crossing guards, unless this program is highly regulated and watched it will be a disaster. I honestly hope no more money is taken away from the real police officers budget for these shenanigans…
      - tom lawler
        
        Wow. You really seem to have a lot of information. Why don't you show some HEART and not just mouth and join the force. All you're doing is hating. All of these officers are putting their lives on the line. Why? Because they want to serve and give back to the city. Ms. Testino, be a part of the solution. Its real easy to sit back and comment. Thats your constitutional right. However, I would have more respect if I saw you out there doing something..
      - Kary Testino
        
        I personally don't care about you or what you think. I'm hating the corruptive bullshit that is this patronage job. You are not going to be police officers, you have no powers of arrest you are to observe and report. Your little training is basically to try and keep you alive if your big mouth gets you in trouble. What the heck do you know about "constitutional right"? Where does that even come in to the equation here?? I am not sitting back here and the reason I know so much is because I fight political bullshit like this that takes away money from REAL police officers and not political patronage jobs like this. You are not going to put your life on the line any more or less than any citizen that you're not going to protect in Paterson. Go back to Haledon where you came from and become a special there. Paterson needs money for real officers and not this. That's the problem with Paterson and NJ, too many BS jobs for this nepotistic and patronistic BS that provide little but raises taxes.
      - tom lawler
        
        As Ronald Reagan used to say, "there you again." First, I'm not from Haledon. I'm from Paterson. Born and bred. Secondly, your rant is all about complaining and not being helpful. These officers need your support and prayers. Not your scorn and hate. They are to be commended for wanting to serve.
      - tom lawler
        
        Correction. The Reagan quote was "there you go again."
      - tom lawler
        
        Oh, Ms. Testino since you know so much about the process, how many questions were on the exam?
      - tom lawler
        
        Oh, another thing you conveniently didn't mention in your ill informed rant is that Paterson just hired 21 police officers. So much for the specials "taking money" from real police officers. Ms. Testino, you don't have the facts on your side. Game. Set. Match. Find another subject or issue that you rant about.
      - Kary Testino
        
        No you dunce… they're getting paid to be wanna be cops. The money should go to real officers that can and will protect us. Go back to Haledon.
      - Kary Testino
        
        Seriously?? I know all about this temporary attempt to try and assist the PD in doing the "simple" tasks. The PD does not support this, it is a political patronage job and any fool could pass the test, the interview wasn't even completed for some "candidates" and the other requirements are nothing to hold value too. Simply talk to your Paterson officer and ask him about it or find your councilman and email him.
      - tom lawler
        
        Ms. Testino, did you see the test? Did you take the test? If not, then you have no idea what you're talking about.
Dane G.

it's also a who can be most submissive job.. you have to be a brown nose and be afraid of the higher ranking officers .. if not you will be disqualified .. once I went through the interview process I realized it was all a joke and basically a way to demoralize the people in Paterson , the higher ranking officers up in the police department know it all , and they also can tell people what they're worth , feel bad for these specials

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