Editor’s note: The Town of Harrison has introduced an ordinance that would create the position of Civilian Police Director. On April 15, the town is expected to take the ordinance up for second reading. The following statement comes directly from the police unions.
As President of Harrison PBA 22A, I want to make it clear that our union strongly opposes the Mayor and Council’s move to quietly create a civilian Police Director position without any transparency, public input or even a conversation with the people who actually work in this department.
This ordinance wasn’t on the April 1 agenda, wasn’t announced up front and only came to light when a resident asked about any additional ordinances that weren’t listed on the agenda. That’s not how you handle something this important. You don’t make major changes to police leadership behind closed doors.
The ordinance gives this new civilian position a salary up to $180,000 and makes them the Appropriate Authority under state law, falsely putting them in charge of key areas like discipline. But here’s the problem: New Jersey law is crystal clear that a civilian Police Director can’t be involved in Internal Affairs or the disciplinary process. Yet this ordinance says otherwise.
That kind of overreach doesn’t just cross a line — it erases it. Discipline needs to stay in the hands of sworn officers, not political appointees.
Even more concerning, we believe this is a step toward eliminating the Chief of Police position altogether—something we’ve seen attempted right next door in East Newark. While the Chief position technically still exists there, no one has been promoted to fill it. It looks like Harrison is taking a page out of that playbook. Instead of working with the department to build strong leadership from within, the town seems more interested in shifting control into the hands of politically appointed civilians.
The message delivered to each and every member of the department, from the newest recruit to the most experienced senior commander is loud and clear: none of you are good enough to be entrusted with the ultimate command of the department to which you have devoted your professional life, and forget any aspirations to lead it in the future (unless you are willing to turn in your badge to accept a political appointment, that is). We believe that the extremely negative impact of this message is self-evident, and will resonate throughout the ranks and through the years. Ultimately, it is the community that pays the price.
After discussions with town officials we were told this is just a “short-term fix,” but there’s nothing in the ordinance that backs that up. No time limit. No defined role. No explanation. Just a vague promise after the fact.
This doesn’t feel like reform — it feels like control. And we’re not going to sit back while leadership decisions are made without us, or worse, while the public is misled about what this ordinance really means.
We’re asking the Mayor and Council to hit pause on this — to delay the second reading and give the residents and officers of this town a real chance to ask questions and get honest answers.
The people of Harrison — and the men and women who serve them — deserve better.
— Lt. Marc Silva
President, Harrison PBA 22A
(Superior Officers)
— David Burke
President, Harrison PBA 22
Read the ordinance here:
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.