A Closer Look spotlights a story by a BTPM NPR reporter each week. This time, Assistant Managing Editor Ryan Zunner speaks with reporter Jamal Harris Jr. who has been following the ongoing dispute between Tonawanda's town government and its police officers.
It started in February when 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 earlier in the year. He said it was an organized effort, but President of the Tonawanda Police Club, Andy Thompson, has denied the accusations.
The most recent story on the issue can be found here.
Ryan: I'm Ryan Zunner, and today here on BTPM NPR we're taking a closer look at the scheduled Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB hearing, between the Town of Tonawanda and the Tonawanda Police Club which is what they call their police union. We're joined now by reporter Jamal Harris Jr., who's been following this saga. Jamal, first off, how did we end up at this point between the two sides?
Jamal: So this all started due to former officer Singh, you know, there was a dispute regarding the obstruction of evidence that the police club did not necessarily agree with, and during that, you know, all that stuff, that kind of led to him hearing about a strike, and Town Supervisor Emminger investigated into that strike, and you know, found that, you know, the numbers would lead him to believe there was a strike which goes against, you know, New York State's Taylor Law. And that led to some contentious town board meetings, and you know, fines and letters being handed out to the officers. And now here we are, you know, at this PERB meeting.
Ryan: Yeah, there was the, the initial investigation by Emminger about those ticket numbers, the town board voting to go ahead with a with a PERB meeting or hearing, rather. What can we expect out of this, this kind of hearing with this particular board?
Jamal: Again, so the operation is like a court case. Basically, it's just court for, you know, employers and employees. So basically, you already had, like, a pre-conference trial to where the DA offers you, you know, a deal beforehand or whatever. Again, the town offered them kind of a deal beforehand to take it did so they don't have to go through this. According to Andy, it wasn't a great deal. He didn't go into details about it, so they declined it. So now they will go into this court-like battle, to where the officers will defend their side and why they didn't go on a strike. Emminger will present his evidence, so why they did go on a strike. The Judge takes all the information in, whoever the judge is, it'll take a few weeks, and then they'll write their decision out, just like regular court.
Ryan: And you mentioned Andy meaning, Andy Thompson, President of the Tonawanda Police Club, he definitely thinks it's unfair. And obviously Emminger, the town supervisor, they kind of dispute the fairness of this investigation. We'll hear some sounds, first from Andy Thompson, and then Supervisor Joe Emminger,
Thompson [soundbite]: Not only the law firm but the lawyer himself has donated money to both Emminger's campaign and the Democratic Party of Tonawanda. So it doesn't seem like it was a neutral investigation at all.
Emminger [soundbite]: They're the law firm who we've been doing work with for 20 years. So them and or their partners who work for the firm, they know the town, they know the police force. They're the ones that made all the sense in the world.
Ryan: All right, so Jamal, what's at stake here? For both sides?
Jamal: Again, for Joe Emminger there's not that much stake again, he's maxed out his town board. He can't run again. You know, he's credible. Council members, some of them, you know, had they have voted, you know, to go ahead with this and whatnot. But, you know, some have publicly a little hesitant to go one side or the other. So there's little stake at them, you know, as they come up for reelection and want to keep their spot, and then public credibility, you know, and pride, as we know, driving Joe Emminger and Andy Thompson very prideful individuals, you know, they want to have credibility with the public. From this town board meeting, it looks like, you know, Joe Emminger's, credibility has taken a little bit of a dip, but again, he doesn't have to run for reelection again, so he's all right, some other council board members and Andy Thompson kind of still had to stay in public service.
Ryan: And those board meetings very, very contentious, huge showing there from police officers, their supporters and residents, that led to a lot of back and forth. You were at many of those board meetings. So if you, the listener, wants to hear any more reporting on this saga, for months, Jamal Harris has been on this, you can head to our website, btpm.org/npr, to read and listen to all the wealth of reporting on this subject, which Jamal will be continuing to cover.
