State corrections officers aren’t the only ones dealing with an allegation of violating strike rules within the Taylor Law, so are Town of Tonawanda police officers. All centered around an alleged “ticket boycott” that town leaders claim amounted to a strike.
Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Joe Emminger said he and other officials were made aware of police officers refusing to write tickets during a three week span that began in early January and ended earlier this month. He said it was an organized effort, and claims it was a member of the police union that told him.
“We were actually notified by a member of the police union that a work stoppage was ongoing. Once the town became aware in late January that a possible strike was taking place by our police force, we had to do a preliminary investigation as to what was going on," Emminger told WBFO. "We conducted a preliminary investigation that showed that there were officers who were writing no tickets over a three week period, or minimal tickets over a three week period. That constitutes a strike, in terms of what a police strike is, the definition of it.”
Police officers, like many public employees, are barred from striking and other work stoppages. Emminger believes there was dissatisfaction among officers when one of them was disciplined last month by Chief James Stauffiger.
“I think it revolves primarily around the the chief holding our officers in the town accountable," said Emminger, citing an incident from early January with a specific officer. "Which I certainly have no issue with him doing. But it's a difficult job, obviously. Difficult job being a police officer in today's day and age, it's a difficult job being a police chief in this day and age."
The Tonawanda Police Club, the union, argued on Facebook its members were still doing their jobs, and it wasn’t a strike. They cited the hundreds of arrests, tickets and other traffic-related operations they conducted in that three-week span.
Police union president Andy Thompson did not respond to an interview request from WBFO.
Emminger said the town will move ahead with a 60-day, formal investigation into the strike allegations.
