The People V. Joe Santiago

The battle over Trenton Police Director Joe "Crime is Down" Santiago has ebbed and flowed over the past several weeks, with emotional arguments to be found on both sides of the issue (though logical ones seem to be a bit more reserved for one view).

To recap...
Those who feel the city's top cop should call the Capital City home say he should because:
a) it's the law,
b) not abiding by the law would set one hell of a double standard for those who abide by the requirement, and even moreso for the folks who have been fired for not adhering to the residency restriction,
and c) because it's the law.

Those who feel it's ok for the city's top law enforcement agent to ignore, um, the law, argue Santiago should be granted a waiver because:
a) the director is afraid of alleged, unconfirmed gang threats left at his home (in Stirling, Morris County) and he'd rather have his family live 50 miles away from where he works and has, um, an entire police force at his disposal to protect them,
b) the director is also afraid of pornography that was sent to his wife's at-work computer, an occurrence which everyone knows would only increase in frequency and severity if he and the fam resided in T-Town,
c) Santiago has already said he'd rather quit than move into a godforsaken hell hole like Trenton (where crime is down though), and if he were to leave, then the city would fall apart, no one else would want his job, and there would be no one around to say "Crime is Down,"
and d) the only people who want to force the director to abide by the law are racist, disgruntled haters, so if those kinds of people want it, well it must be wrong.

Well, gee, looks like the pro-Santiago folks have at least one more "reason" on their side. Guess they win.

Looks like they could too, since a once-unified-against-Mayor Palmer-City Council (a rare bird in these parts) is seemingly starting to crumble under Hizzoner's pressure. (What happened to that 7-0 informal Trentonian poll taken of City Council members regarding their stance on residency?)
Now it seems council is considering an amendment to the residency ordinance to allow for Joe's exceptions. Will it be called the "Santiago Clause?" That sounds nice and festive for this time of year.

But a groundswell seems to be, um, swelling, with city residents exploring the possibility of gathering signatures for a petition aimed at fighting whatever knew law the council crafts for Santiago. Read more about the new effort here http://www.trentonspeaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=568 on the Trenton Speaks forum, or make some comments and get the discussion going here. Let us know where you stand on the issue Trenton!

Why is Palmer against police referendum?

You've heard by now that the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday overturned Mayor Doug Palmer's 2004 attempt to block a referendum that challenged his decision to do away with the city's deputy police chiefs.
The move solidified the power that Trenton's controversial civilian police director has over the department.
Critics of the move used a provision in New Jersey law that allows voters to collect signatures and force a citywide referendum asking that a particular city ordinance be overturned.
Palmer and the city council went to court to block that vote in 2004, and the case culminated yesterday with the Supreme Court restoring sweeping rights for voters to use this referendum process throughout the state.
Why did Palmer spend so much taxpayer money challenging this? Why did he care in the first place if voters had a say?
The best theory we can come up with is that Doug Palmer knows that the civilian police director system in Trenton has fallen out of favor. That may or may not be tied directly to the personality and performance of the person who has the job.
Putting this referendum out to voters could be the first step in a groundswell among the public to going back to the old days of having a traditional police chief.

Police fighting police

You'd think that the shooting Sunday afternoon of Mercer County Sheriff's Department officer Joshus Hahn might serve as a wakeup call, or a reminder, that the enemy our police officers should be fighting is "out there," not within the walls of the station.

So it was sad at the very least ... and a frightening statement about how this crap might be putting our public safety at risk ... to see open hostility among officers at the scene Sunday, while the punk suspected of shooting the unarmed Hahn in the chest at close range was still at-large.

The tension within the Trenton Police Department boiled over this past week when critics of Police Director Santiago and Mayor Doug Palmer made public a photo of Capt. Paul Messina, a Santiago ally, sleeping while on duty.

Messina, understandably feeling victimized by critics of the administration but ready to serve his suspension, had to endure chants of "Capt. Sleepy, Capt. Sleepy!" as he worked the crime scene of Hahn's shooting yesterday.

Blame Santiago and Palmer for this situation, as a number of disgruntled cops do, or blame the disgruntled cops for poisoning the atmosphere in the department.

Either way, it's up to the top leaders of the city - Palmer and the council - to do something about Santiago, do something about the disgruntled cops if they are acting inappropriately, or do something about all of them!

Let's get the focus back on crime fighting, instead of infighting.

The People V. Joe Santiago

The battle over Trenton Police Director Joe "Crime is Down" Santiago has ebbed and flowed over the past several weeks, with emotional arguments to be found on both sides of the issue (though logical ones seem to be a bit more reserved for one view).

To recap...
Those who feel the city's top cop should call the Capital City home say he should because:
a) it's the law,
b) not abiding by the law would set one hell of a double standard for those who abide by the requirement, and even moreso for the folks who have been fired for not adhering to the residency restriction,
and c) because it's the law.

Those who feel it's ok for the city's top law enforcement agent to ignore, um, the law, argue Santiago should be granted a waiver because:
a) the director is afraid of alleged, unconfirmed gang threats left at his home (in Stirling, Morris County) and he'd rather have his family live 50 miles away from where he works and has, um, an entire police force at his disposal to protect them,
b) the director is also afraid of pornography that was sent to his wife's at-work computer, an occurrence which everyone knows would only increase in frequency and severity if he and the fam resided in T-Town,
c) Santiago has already said he'd rather quit than move into a godforsaken hell hole like Trenton (where crime is down though), and if he were to leave, then the city would fall apart, no one else would want his job, and there would be no one around to say "Crime is Down,"
and d) the only people who want to force the director to abide by the law are racist, disgruntled haters, so if those kinds of people want it, well it must be wrong.

Well, gee, looks like the pro-Santiago folks have at least one more "reason" on their side. Guess they win.

Looks like they could too, since a once-unified-against-Mayor Palmer-City Council (a rare bird in these parts) is seemingly starting to crumble under Hizzoner's pressure. (What happened to that 7-0 informal Trentonian poll taken of City Council members regarding their stance on residency?)
Now it seems council is considering an amendment to the residency ordinance to allow for Joe's exceptions. Will it be called the "Santiago Clause?" That sounds nice and festive for this time of year.

But a groundswell seems to be, um, swelling, with city residents exploring the possibility of gathering signatures for a petition aimed at fighting whatever knew law the council crafts for Santiago. Read more about the new effort here http://www.trentonspeaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=568 on the Trenton Speaks forum, or make some comments and get the discussion going here. Let us know where you stand on the issue Trenton!

Why is Palmer against police referendum?

You've heard by now that the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday overturned Mayor Doug Palmer's 2004 attempt to block a referendum that challenged his decision to do away with the city's deputy police chiefs.
The move solidified the power that Trenton's controversial civilian police director has over the department.
Critics of the move used a provision in New Jersey law that allows voters to collect signatures and force a citywide referendum asking that a particular city ordinance be overturned.
Palmer and the city council went to court to block that vote in 2004, and the case culminated yesterday with the Supreme Court restoring sweeping rights for voters to use this referendum process throughout the state.
Why did Palmer spend so much taxpayer money challenging this? Why did he care in the first place if voters had a say?
The best theory we can come up with is that Doug Palmer knows that the civilian police director system in Trenton has fallen out of favor. That may or may not be tied directly to the personality and performance of the person who has the job.
Putting this referendum out to voters could be the first step in a groundswell among the public to going back to the old days of having a traditional police chief.

Police fighting police

You'd think that the shooting Sunday afternoon of Mercer County Sheriff's Department officer Joshus Hahn might serve as a wakeup call, or a reminder, that the enemy our police officers should be fighting is "out there," not within the walls of the station.

So it was sad at the very least ... and a frightening statement about how this crap might be putting our public safety at risk ... to see open hostility among officers at the scene Sunday, while the punk suspected of shooting the unarmed Hahn in the chest at close range was still at-large.

The tension within the Trenton Police Department boiled over this past week when critics of Police Director Santiago and Mayor Doug Palmer made public a photo of Capt. Paul Messina, a Santiago ally, sleeping while on duty.

Messina, understandably feeling victimized by critics of the administration but ready to serve his suspension, had to endure chants of "Capt. Sleepy, Capt. Sleepy!" as he worked the crime scene of Hahn's shooting yesterday.

Blame Santiago and Palmer for this situation, as a number of disgruntled cops do, or blame the disgruntled cops for poisoning the atmosphere in the department.

Either way, it's up to the top leaders of the city - Palmer and the council - to do something about Santiago, do something about the disgruntled cops if they are acting inappropriately, or do something about all of them!

Let's get the focus back on crime fighting, instead of infighting.