Bellmawr & Brooklawn Cops on Trial; New Store for Brooklawn; For Sale; Too Many Unions
Monday, December 26, 2016
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William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNewsnet
JURY CAN HEAR SUICIDE CASE INVOLVING AREA COPS--U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez ruled last week that a Bellmawr police officer and a Brooklawn police officer can be sued for trying to stop a man from committing suicide. According to the Courier Post, a jury hearing the suit can also decide whether a lack of training for Bellmawr and Brooklawn police officers contributed to the April 2012 death of 37-year-old Michael Wood of Bellmawr.
The judge noted the boroughs' officers were not taught how to deal with suicidal or barricaded people like the knife-wielding Wood, who was fatally shot after police responded to his 911 call threatening suicide.
Rodriguez said two officers who entered Wood's Bellmawr apartment "were undisputedly trying to help" the distraught man. But he said a jury might find the officers – Brooklawn Patrolman Charles Holland and Bellmawr Sgt. Jeffrey Vance – fatally worsened a "suicide-by-cop scenario."
Rodriguez noted the jury must also decide the conflicting accounts of events leading to Wood's shooting by Holland.
The Courier Post reported the Brooklawn officer said he shot Wood twice in the torso when the 267-pound man raised a large knife with an 8½-inch blade and moved toward Vance. But Vance told investigators Wood had neither raised the knife nor turned in his direction, the ruling notes.
According to the decision, Holland, Vance, and two other officers initially entered Wood's second-floor apartment after breaking a window on a locked door at ground level. As the officers climbed an "unlit and narrow" stairway around 9:20 p.m., they encountered Chris Wood, Michael's brother, who later testified "he had been sleeping on the pull-out couch in the living room after a day of heavy drinking."
Two officers removed Chris Wood, leaving Holland and Vance with Michael Wood, who was holding a knife as he sat on a bedroom floor in the small, "mainly dark" apartment. Both officers had their weapons drawn, with Holland's gun aimed at Wood, the decision says.
The officers said they talked to Wood about his problems and asked him, without success, to put down the knife.
In one discrepancy, Rodriguez noted, Holland said Wood "ran the gamut of emotions," while Vance said he "didn't seem agitated at all."
The lawsuit was filed by Wood's sister, Deborah Wilson of Bellmawr. She described Wood as "depressed and very intoxicated."
GOOD NEWS FOR AREA POOL OWNERS-The former Brooklawn Flower Shop, (above) at the intersection of U.S. Route 130 south and Browning Road has been purchased by the South Jersey Pool Supply. A sign announcing that they will be opening soon was displayed on the front of the building earlier this month.
ANOTHER COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FOR SALE IN GLOUCESTER CITY —We just noticed recently that the building that once housed the Twisted Delights business at 30 South Broadway is for sale. Twisted Delights closed its doors in the summer after 15 years in business Old Timers will remember that building as the home of Powell’s Luncheonette. Back in the 50’s and 60’s that was one of many hangouts for teenagers in Gloucester City. The owners were Mike and Sadie Powell and their employee was Aggie.
WHO CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA?--The city of Gloucester City has 110 full-time employees and 71 part-time employees, according to the 2015 friendly budget.
Those employees are represented by seven different unions. Public employers must file the copies of public sector contracts with the N.J. Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). Below are links to the various city union contracts. Five of those contracts expire in 2017.
- Gloucester CityCamdenFMBA Loc 251Municipal01/01/2014 - 12/31/2018
- Gloucester CityCamdenFMBA Loc 251Municipal01/01/2014 - 12/31/2018
- Gloucester CityCamdenPBA Loc 40Municipal01/01/2013 - 12/31/2017
- Gloucester CityCamdenGloucester City Police SOAMunicipal01/01/2013 - 12/31/2017
- Gloucester CityCamdenGloucester City Police SOAMunicipal01/01/2013 - 12/31/2017
- Gloucester CityCamdenPBA Loc 40Municipal01/01/2013 - 12/31/2017
- Gloucester CityCamdenUnited Steelworkers Loc 8228Municipal01/01/2013 - 12/31/2017
source www.perc.state.nj
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