‘Hellraiser’ of Weekend Brings Bristol Cops Shortage, Public Safety to Head at Council Meeting

The staffing situation for the Bristol Borough Police Department came to a head Monday night with officials and residents discussing concerns about staffing, public safety and the elements of hiring new patrol officers.

With two officers out due to health related issues and two that have moved onto other departments, officials at the Bristol Borough Council meeting agreed that there are too few members to successfully fulfill borough needs public safety at this point in time.

“There is a very serious issue downstairs,” said Bristol Borough Police Benevolent Association President  Sgt. Joe Moors, who spoke during the public participation part of the  meeting to try to convince the council to hire new officers. According to Moors, there is a current total of only nine officers to cover the borough of nearly 10,000 residents.

Moors appeared at a council meeting just as summer got underway. At that time, he asked for additional officers.

“We have a public safety issue going on. The North Ward has some serious issues going on in it and those guys (the cops) on the  street need help and I’m going to make sure I do all I can working with borough officials and Joe to get them the help they need,” Mayor Pat Sabatini told LevittownNow.com before the meeting.

In January, Patrolman Elifa Soto was stricken by an as yet unidentified health issue which has left him unable to return to the streets. Patrolman Justin Gross, while in his patrol car, was struck by a woman driving under the influence in the late winter. The woman rammed, Gross’ cruiser three times as he was blocking the onramp to the PA Turnpike. He’s been on medical leave since February.

Sources have told LevittownNow over the past few months neither is expected to return to active duty soon.

“I feel like we have been undermanned for awhile,” Sabatini said at Monday’s  meeting.

“I am going to ask this council tonight to consider hiring two full-time officers,” the mayor offered in response to a question by Tony Riccio, a resident of the West Ward. Riccio’s neighborhood also happens to be an area of concern Moors talked about in terms recent criminal activities.

Riccio came up to public comment and inquired why state police were seen in Bristol over the weekend. Moors explained the state authorities were providing backup for the department as they investigated an alleged rape committed by two men who were subsequently arrested late Saturday night.

Officials said state police helped back up borough patrol units while they were investigating the alleged rape along with county detectives.

Moors pointed out two other incidents over the last weeks that occurred in the borough – a man high on PCP requiring several first responders to restrain him and a woman robbed in front of a Bristol store by two unidentified suspects.

Sabatini said, “this weekend was nothing but a hellraiser for these gentlemen.”

“We’re losing ten years of hard work here,” Moors told the county, explaining the efforts the department has made with regards to crime fighting efforts and public safety in the borough. He noted that Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe worked with the department to crack down on crime previously.

The number of officers needed  to cover patrols has forced the entire department, including Chief Arnold Porter, to respond to calls. Officers scheduled to be off end up working to cover the void created due to the gaps with the four officers not working.

Two weeks ago while responding to a medical call on Bath Road, a long time borough resident noted, “Sgt Joe doesn’t look himself, You can see he’s exhausted.” Moors, on his last “off weekend,” ended up working a total of 36 hours.

“This is an emergency situation,” Moors said of the problems facing the department. Officers who attended the council meeting nodded in agreement.

Moors was quick to make clear he was not looking to politicize the issue because its about public safety, not politics.

Sabatini has been questioning the state of the police department since the initial officers left the force.

“I asked continuously since March when the officers went down,” said Sabatini on his involvement with the police department.

Sabatini thinks it is important for new hires to be done now, given the fact  there is no specific date for the return of the injured officers.

“I think that some of these injuries could take between six months and a year, if not more,” he explained.

The council exhibited hesitation in regards to hiring full time officers because full time officers are unable to be laid off, according to DiGuisseppe. The council president did note that he was not against hiring officers, but stated he wanted make sure it was done in a manner that would not impact residents’ taxes come budget season.

The council decided to hold a special meeting later in the week to further discuss the situation regarding the injuries facing the currently displaced officers. The special meeting will consist of the four police sergeants, the mayor and the police chief.

“Someone is going to get hurt. That is my biggest fear,” Sabatini said.  “This is very unique, very rare. We just need to do the right thing.”

In the interim, borough officials have contacted Joe Rudolph, who over sees the police hiring process for the municipality in order to transfer one current part time patrolman from part time to full time.

Other borough council votes included the vote to recommend the Redevelopment Authority approval of the agreement of sale for the Mill Run building. The council voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the sale of the property.