DAVID PORTER
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nine rookie police officers have been fired for their behavior at a drunken graduation party in northern New Jersey.
In announcing the dismissals the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Friday the incident has prompted a review of the process for selecting and training candidates. The officers were part of the agency’s largest-ever graduating class.
Several other officers and supervisors face disciplinary proceedings or suspensions stemming from the party at a Hoboken bar on Aug. 23, the agency said.
“This is a sad day for the Port Authority Police Department,” Executive Director Patrick Foye said in a statement. “We are extremely disappointed by the conduct of the probationary officers involved and appalled by the poor judgment of the Academy staff members in attendance. The Port Authority is justly proud of the history and dedication of its police department and views the conduct in question as deeply troubling.”
The agency investigated after news reports emerged of an out-of-control party at the Texas Arizona Bar and Grill. The officers were terminated for their conduct and for not being truthful during the investigative process, according to a Port Authority spokesman, who would not elaborate on the nature of the conduct.
In addition to the officers who were fired, three other new officers were suspended without pay for 30 days and will have their probationary status extended for a year. Three supervisors and two other officers will face disciplinary proceedings.
No names were released.
The cost of training a Port Authority police officer is about $36,000, an agency spokesman said. The Port Authority operates bridges, tunnels, airports and ports in the New York metropolitan area as well as the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
The new officers could be terminated without union representation because they were still in their one-year probationary period, the spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association said the union is reviewing the firings.
“Though this decision is the result of an internal investigation, the PAPBA was not made aware of any specific charges leading to the terminations,” spokesman Robert Egbert said. “The PAPBA is currently reviewing the Port Authority’s actions.”
The 249 cadets who graduated in August represented the largest graduating class in the department’s 86-year history. Among the 210 men and 39 women were two sons of officers killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001.
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