North Jersey Editorial Board

Recent reporting on the DWI arrests involving members of the Cliffside Park Police Department – along with a deeply troubling video – paints a disturbing picture that seems to underlie an emerging trend among too many law enforcement officers in whom we place our faith every day.

As Steve Janoski and Kristie Cattafi of NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey reported, since May, local and state authorities have arrested two of the borough's sworn police officers and two of its special police officers for colliding with cars or poles after allegedly driving drunk.

Then there is the video, recorded in the early hours of Aug. 3 from a dashboard camera, which shows another police officer, off-duty at the time, standing outside his vehicle and speaking with his fellow officers responding to what appears to be a possible DWI violation.

On the recording, responding officers repeatedly seem to say that they did not smell alcohol on his breath. “We’re all sticking with that?” one officer asks.

Two hours later, at 5:18 a.m., authorities tested the off-duty officer’s blood alcohol content. It was 0.15 percent — almost twice the legal limit.

The DWI troubles at Cliffside Park come amid a string of possible drunken-driving incidents regarding other North Jersey police officers in recent months, including one involving a Bergen County Sheriff’s Officer, and another involving a Palisades Park officer.

And they come amid rising concerns about stress on the job among first responders, suicide among the those who wear the uniform, and the mental state of law enforcement officers nationwide.

In poignant remarks delivered last month to the New Jersey Hospital Association’s discussion on “Suicide & Stigma: Taking the Conversation out of the Shadows,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal recounted the life, service and tragic death by suicide last December of Mercer County sheriff’s officer Pablo Santiago.

Grewal described Santiago as “larger than life,” a dedicated and committed public servant who wore a “trademark smile.” Yet, the officer was also suffering inside, losing what Grewal described as “the quiet battle.”

The attorney general said Santiago’s death helped prompt him to begin to more seriously addres the “mental health and well-being” of New Jersey’s law enforcement officers. In August, he announced a first-in-the-nation “resiliency” campaign meant to give officers an outlet to receive help to fight back against the ravages of emotional and mental health troubles.

Certainly, police work is a high-pressure job. As Grewal noted, police officers “are the first to step up, and the last to step aside.” The resiliency initiative, we hope, will help sweep aside some of the stigma surrounding emotional and mental health of our officers.

In the meantime, there are also clear protocols for dealing with folks being pulled over for possible DWI infractions. Those protocols must be followed, to maintain the public trust, regardless whether the driver in question happens to be a police officer, an elected official, or an ordinary citizen.

All law enforcement entities in New Jersey should use these latest developments regarding DWI’s and the Cliffside Park Police Department to re-examine and reinstate proper procedure for dealing with possible arrests of fellow officers. These incidents can also serve as a wake-up call to, as Grewal has said, “acknowledge an important issue,” that has too long gone unacknowledged.