Assignment of on-duty police officers to mayor's fund-raiser draws criticism and a defense

Friday, December 09, 2011, 11:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

On-duty Jersey City cops were stationed outside Mayor Jerramiah Healy?s political fund-raiser at Puccini?s restaurant on West Side Avenue Tuesday night.

City officials defended the move, with Police Chief Tom Comey saying Healy is a public official who requires constant protection, whether he?s at a private fund-raiser or at a city-sponsored event.

?We still have a responsibility to protect an elected official,? Comey said. ?Elected officials are shot throughout this country.?

The cops? detail was revealed in a tour roster from the city?s West District precinct, a document obtained by The Jersey Journal that lists two cops stationed outside Puccini?s while Healy was raising campaign cash inside.

Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association president Jerry DeCicco said he ?respectfully? disagrees with Comey?s position. Security for a private fund-raiser should not be paid for by taxpayers, DeCicco said.

?The geniuses running Team Healy?s re-election campaign have been in this game a long time,? he said. ?They know what needs to be done. They should be ashamed of themselves.?

Healy, who as mayor is provided with a city-paid cop who acts as a security guard/driver, hasn?t announced whether he plans to seek re-election in 2013. If he runs, he?ll face Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop, who slammed Healy for allowing city-paid cops to be stationed outside a fund-raiser.

?It is pathetic, as they know the city has a crime problem, and yet they take patrol officers from the busiest police district to watch over a political event,? Fulop said. ?This is the type of judgment that explains why residents don?t feel safe?

Healy defended the detail, saying the assignment of police officers is up to the discretion of police commanders and Comey.

?I am sure that if the commander assigned them to that location it was appropriate and that if an incident were to have occurred in the confines of the West District they would have been able to quickly respond,? Healy said.