“Immediate, Permanent Removal”

The Mercer County Police Academy features an online link to its “Rules and Regulations for Trainees.” The cover note from School Director Albert Paglione is dated October 1, 2007. It is not a new document.

The intent of this document, as stated by Director Paglione, is “to assist in the administration of the school and to help to maintain proper morale and discipline.” This is a serious matter for the Director of the Academy, as one would entirely expect. On Page 3 of the manual is a stern statement that “Any violation of these Rules and Regulations will result in the issuance of demerits, which will result in disciplinary action, which may range from a reprimand to suspension and recommendation for dismissal.”

Rule 3-6 reads in its entirety,

Any incidence of cheating or an attempt to cheat, on any examination, notebook, quiz, etc., shall be grounds for immediate, permanent removal of the trainee from the Academy. This type of conduct shall be considered a violation of professional responsibility / demeanor. A Class “A” Offense.

A Class “A” Offense is elsewhere defined as one that incurs 15 Demerits for the first violation. Upon the 15th demerit accumulated, for whatever reasons, a Trainee is immediately suspended from classes and recommended for dismissal. According to the Manual, the only Class “A” offenses are related to misuse of alcohol or any use of illegal drugs, as well as violations of firearms and weapons rules.

And, as we read above, Cheating.

For the last few days, Acting Police Director Ernest Parrey, Jr. has defended his decision to “recycle” a Trainee removed from the Academy six weeks ago for cheating and give him a civilian job in the Trenton Police Department  records section until he can re-enter the Academy with the next new class. “It was a stupid, foolish mistake by a young man so far into the process,” Parrey said to the Trenton Times. “He has apologized profusely. We brought him in here like we have done with many others and based on his performance here, he will recycle through academy.”

Director Parrey denies that this second chance he has offered the trainee has anything to do with the fact that the young man in question is Angel Perez, son-in-law of Trenton Chief of Staff Francis Blanco. He denied the accusation of preferential treatment, rather bizarrely in my opinion, by pointing to the failure to admit Blanco’s daughter to the Academy. “If I was going to show preferential treatment, you’d think I’d do it with the daughter, not the son-in-law,” he also told the Times.

In light of the fact that there is an explicit Rule for Police Academy trainees that calls for “immediate, permanent removal” from the Academy for ANY incidence of cheating or even AN ATTEMPT to cheat, Mr. Parrey’s decision to grant Mr. Perez a second chance looks even more like political favoritism than it did yesterday.

Director Parrey has said for the record that “Perez’s actions ‘did not rise to the level of termination,'” as reported in the Trentonian on Thursday. We know now that they did, according to the Academy’s own Rules and Regulations. What Mr. Parrey needs now is to put his decision regarding Mr. Perez in wider context. The Director told the Trentonian “this is not the first time a recruit was allowed to recycle through the police academy after being removed once before.”

Does that mean that other recruits have been allowed to “recycle” through the Academy after explicit violations of Rule 3-6?

Does that mean that other recruits have been allowed to “recycle” through the Academy after other Class “A” violations, such as the ones regarding drugs or weapons offenses?

If so, when and how many? If not, why is Mr. Perez allowed this treatment?

And, based on either situation – if there are other “recycled” trainees or police officers on the job in spite of Class “A” offenses during Academy training, or if Mr. Perez is the only one – is Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson still OK with this?