A New Jersey police union announced Tuesday that it had won a dispute over a city’s demand that local police officers identify if they were involved in the Jan. 6 violent pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.
Bob Fox, president of the Fraternal Order of Police’s-New Jersey Labor Council, told a press release which had resolved a complaint on behalf of members of Lodge 19 of the Association of Senior Officers of Neptune, “preserving the constitutional and contractual rights of our members.”
Fox added that the municipality of Neptune on January 20 sent a notice that “required members to identify whether they were participating in the January 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. capital in Washington, DC,” an event that said that the police union “at all levels clearly and unequivocally condemned.”
Fox added that officers were informed that they would face disciplinary action if they did not respond to the warning.
“In particular, there was absolutely no indication, complaint or information suggesting that any senior Neptune officer was involved in any way in the January 6 events in Washington DC,” the police union chief continued. “The FOP concluded that this investigation was conducted solely for political purposes and was not based on facts or credible information.”
The police union then filed a grievance “challenging the legality of the notice and the requirement to compel our members to respond” and alleged “violations of the rights of our members under the bargaining agreement. with the municipality of Neptune “.
Fox said the municipality then upheld the complaint and therefore withdrew the notice to police officers.
“The FOP and the FOP-NJ Labor Council will continue to defend our members, without fail and with the resources at our disposal,” Fox added in the press release.
This happens when several current and former police officers have been arrested and charged in connection with the January 6 riot, in which five people died as a result of the chaos, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick and a woman shot by an official countryman.
Federal officials have already charged more than 100 individuals in connection with the riot, and investigators said Tuesday that they are currently on trial. studying more than 400 possible suspects.
DC U.S. Attorney General Michael Sherwin said in a call with reporters that law enforcement has received more than 200,000 tips from the public and obtained more than 500 search warrants and subpoenas.