STATEMENT FROM BERGEN COUNTY PBA LOCAL 134

Bergen County PBA Local 134 is the representative of approximately 437 Bergen County Sheriff’s Officers and Correction Officers below the rank of Captain.  We are a diverse labor organization that includes both female Officers, who comprise over 12% of all the Sheriff’s Officers and Correction Officers employed within Bergen County, as well as many minority Officers within all of the ranks of our bargaining unit.

Our Union’s Executive Board has reviewed the recorded conversation engaged in by Sheriff Michael Saudino on January 16, 2018 following Governor Murphy’s Gubernatorial Inauguration.

There is no excuse for making racist, homophobic and hateful statements, at a time when it is necessary for all of us to come together and recognize that the color of a person’s skin, ethnicity or religion should never be the subject of negative commentary and offensive language.

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office is the largest law enforcement agency in Bergen County and, including the Sheriff’s Officers and Correction Officers within our bargaining unit, there are approximately 600 dedicated personnel employed within that Office.  The Sheriff’s Office’s responsibilities include a broad range of services and functions which provide law enforcement assistance to the public, supplement the County’s Municipal Police Departments and safeguard judicial proceedings in the County.

The Sheriff’s Office is a 24 hour operation staffed by some of the best and most well trained Officers and civilians working the field of law enforcement today.  We cannot and will not accept discrimination or prejudice towards anyone.

The men and women of Bergen County PBA Local 134 will contact New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in the very near future to discuss what PBA Local 134 can do to try to undo the damage that may have been caused to all law enforcement personnel employed within Bergen County, as a direct result of the Sheriff’s comments.

The Sheriff’s unconscionable statements do not reflect the opinions of any member of the law enforcement community that PBA Local 134 represents.  We reaffirm our commitment to work together with representatives of all of our minority communities in Bergen County to develop and maintain positive relationships with their constituencies who justifiably have been outraged by Sheriff Saudino’s comments.

We agree with Michael Saudino’s decision to resign from his position as Sheriff effective immediately as his statements do not reflect the opinions or values of any member of PBA Local 134.