A police union in New Jersey announced on Tuesday that it had won a dispute over a town’s demand that local police officers identify whether they had participated in the violent pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.
Bob Fox, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police’s-New Jersey Labor Council, said in a press release that it had resolved a complaint on behalf of members of Neptune Superior Officers Association Lodge 19, “while retaining the constitutional and contractual rights of our members.”
Fox added that Neptune Township sent a message on Jan. 20 that “demanded members to identify if they were participating in the ‘Jan. 6, 2021 siege of the US capital in Washington, DC,'” an event he said the police union ” clearly and unequivocally condemned at all levels. “
Fox added that officers were informed they would take disciplinary action if they did not respond to the notice.
“In particular, there was absolutely no indication, complaint, or information to suggest that a Neptune Superior Officer was in any way involved in the January 6 events in Washington DC,” continued the chief of the police union. “The FOP concluded that this research was conducted for political purposes only and was not based on factual or credible information.”
The police union then filed a complaint “challenging the legality of the notice and the requirement to compel our members to reply” and alleged “violations of our members’ rights under collective bargaining with the Neptune Congregation”.
Fox said the council then backed 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 by whatever means at our disposal,” Fox added in the release.
This is because several current and former police officers among those 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 who was shot by a plainclothes citizen . officer.
Federal officials have already charged more than 100 people in connection with the riot, and investigators on Tuesday said they currently are investigation of more than 400 potential suspects.
DC’s acting US attorney Michael Sherwin said in a phone conversation with reporters that police have received more than 200,000 tips from the public and received more than 500 search warrants and subpoenas.