Possible NJ ban following badge-flash flap in Tenafly

After a then-Port Authority commissioner flashed her PA badge in April to Tenafly police officers following a traffic stop, some state legislators seek to ban civilians possessing emblems that could be construed as law-enforcement IDs.

“I don’t see a reason for them,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, on Tuesday. “There is a tendency, obviously, for people to misuse them. They are also rather expensive to make. I don’t have one, and I don’t know why anybody needs them.”

Weinberg said she will support a measure anticipated to be introduced by Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Tinton Falls, which bans the use of badges by people not in law enforcement.

“We’ve seen issues where these badges have been abused,” said Gopal, vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

“If you’re not a law enforcement official, you should not have a badge.”

Councilmembers' crests

Municipal officials surveyed in North Jersey defended, downplayed or qualified the use of non-law enforcement badges.

Dumont Borough Administrator Thomas Richards said members of the Borough Council haven’t been issued badges in recent years.

“They don’t run around telling people, ‘You’re under arrest’ or ‘don’t talk to me that way. I’m a very important person,’” Richards said.

While critical of the Port Authority commissioner’s actions that led to her resignation, Richards was skeptical about state oversight of local officials' use of badges.

“That’s a kind of a knee-jerk reaction,” said Richards, when told of the legislative proposal. “Because I tell you, 99.999 percent of the people elected to office I know would never consider using it that way.”

“It’s not unusual for a town to give out ceremonial badges,” noted Richards. “But they haven’t given them out recently and, once again, it’s a ceremonial badge. You’re not supposed to use them.”

In Montclair, the Township Council’s badges created a stir when the local government purchased seven of the oval shields with the stipulation that council members return them when their terms end.

As reported in 2013, should a council member choose to keep a badge on leaving office, he or she could reimburse the township for the $82 cost.

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The Montclair council members' badges are oval in shape so as to distinguish them from the Montclair police officers' badges, municipal officials said.

Montclair 4th Ward Councilmember Renée Baskerville was quick to defend her council’s use of badges.

“In these unsettling times, the badge may help to deter backlash from individuals, who may wish to retaliate when we are acting in furtherance of our responsibilities as a public official in the township,” said Baskerville in a statement to NorthJersey.com.

“An example could be if we wished to explain local parking laws or laws regarding graffiti, or off-leash laws, no smoking in our parks or on municipal property or drinking alcohol on our public streets,” Baskerville stated.

In Nutley, Public Affairs Commissioner Steve Rogers, a former law enforcement official, said only law enforcement officials carry badges in his township.

“I have health inspectors that I issue IDs to,” said Rogers. “I do not believe anyone besides a law enforcement officer should carry a badge, because when you show someone a badge, they default to giving that person power that they may not have."

A spokesperson for the Essex County Sheriff’s Office said the department’s civilian employees do not carry badges.

“Nobody’s who’s a civilian around here has a badge,” said spokesperson Kevin Lynch.

In the City of Passaic, elected officials receive badges, but Mayor Hector Lora qualified their use and intent.

“It is intended not as a badge of additional authority, as in the case of a police officer, but as a badge of responsibility and accountability,” Lora said.

“As an elected official, you receive a badge that acknowledges that you’ve been elected,” he observed. “It’s not intended for you to carry around.”

Gopal perceives that with New Jersey's surfeit of municipal governments and plethora of agencies and commissions, too many badges have been issued to too many people, who are not in law enforcement.

He told NorthJersey.com he has spoken to leadership in both legislative houses, and he anticipates a draft of the measure this month.

“New Jersey’s problem is we have 565 municipalities and hundreds of districts and authorities and agencies,” Gopal said. “It's absolutely appropriate for the state to get involved … That’s a lot of mayors and town councilpeople.”

Staff writers Richard Cowen and Marsha Stoltz contributed to this report. Email: kadosh@northjersey.com