Chiefs, Residents Back Santiago

A one-sentence resolution could spell the beginning of the end of a 138-year police chief tradition in Plainfield.

Embattled Police Chief Edward Santiago took the microphone first Thursday night to protest a proposed layoff plan targeting him, then many others did the same before the City Council voted approval. The governing body then came in for a second round of condemnation.

By authorizing submission of the layoff plan to the state Department of Personnel, the council took the first step toward the administration's goal of eliminating the police chief's position in favor of rotating captains as police director. If the plan goes through, Santiago would have to end his police career in Plainfield by dropping back to the rank of captain or retiring.

Besides protesting the layoff, speakers resented the cloud of secrecy over the matter that was broken just Thursday by a newspaper article in the Star-Ledger. At Tuesday's agenda session, officials mentioned the layoff plan but gave no details. Asked after the meeting, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig said the plan affected only one person.

But Alexi Friedman's article supplied the missing context: It was Santiago, and the next step would be an ordinance to do away with the chief's title.

Santiago told the council he had never been consulted on the matter and asked to speak with the governing body in closed session. Councilman Rashid Burney, acting as council president in the absence of Harold Gibson, said he thought it was fair to do so. But the vote went forward anyway Thursday, with Burney, Linda Carter, Elliott Simmons and William Reid voting "yes." Gibson, Cory Storch and Don Davis were absent.

Hillside Police Chief Robert Quinlan, who is also president of the Union County police chiefs' association, said he was very disturbed by what he read in the newspaper. He called the proposal "illegal," "unethical" and "ill-advised." He said his group could offer information and guidance in the situation.

The change would leave the appointed public safety director in charge of the police division.

Quinlan said public safety directors are politically appointed and often "politically responsive."

"If you remove the chief, who will stand up for the law?" he asked.

Eliminating the chief's position would also send a message to captains that there was nobody within the division "fit to lead," he said. Due to the short notice, only chiefs from Scotch Plains and New Providence were present, but Quinlan said he represented all 21 police chiefs in the county.

Flor Gonzalez, preesident of the Latin American Coalition, pointed out about 25 Hispanic residents in the audience . Referring to Monday's Martin Luther King holiday, she spoke about injustice and called removal of the only Hispanic top leader as an injustice heaped upon the Hispanic population of the city.

Nimrod Webb, a 47-year resident involved for 31 years in his family's business in Plainfield, said, "The one person that we could always count on was Police Chief Ed Santiago."

Webb called it "a severe injustice and a travesty" to get rid of the chief.

Officials including mayoral mentor Assemblyman Jerry Green denied there was anything personal or racial in the matter. Green called it a fiscal issue, saying, "We have to tighten up."

But resident Maria Pellum said money could be saved by eliminating the mayor's two bodyguards and money spent on flowers and dinners through the mayor's office.

Others questioned whether, if the police chief's title was to be abolished, the fire chief's title should follow suit. The city's charter calls for three department heads, including the director of Public Safety. the police and fire division are under that department and each division has always had a chief.

Speakers warned of costly litigation that would outweigh any cost savings by eliminating the police chief title. Santiago already is in litigation with the city over suspensions by the current administration and issues with the previous leadership. On Thursday, he cited a 1991 case in Linden where a chief was demoted to captain but the court found that he should retain all his former "rights, powers, duties, privileges and responsibilities" that he formerly enjoyed as police chief.

--Bernice Paglia