True Story: PA Police Union Files Complaint Against Chief for Making Off-Duty Arrest
- Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:33am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Every once in awhile I issue a warning before a story saying that if you are easily enraged by union absurdity you should quit reading. This is a story that deserves such a warning.
The police union in Scranton, PA has filed a complaint against its police chief, Dan Duffy, because he dared to make an off-duty arrest for a man believed to be in a possession of marijuana. What’s so egregious about that? According to the union, the chief’s manager status places him outside the “bargaining unit,” and that arrests are solely the responsibility of officers who are in the union.
Deep breaths.
The Times-Tribune reports:
The complaint, which was filed with the state Labor Relations Board on April 14, takes issue with the chief arresting a man who was allegedly in possession of marijuana because the chief is not a member of the collective bargaining unit and was “off duty” when the March 20 arrest was made.
“I think it’s absurd. I’m not going to turn my head on crime that takes place,” Chief Duffy said. “I took the same oath (as a police officer) that everyone else took.
“On my day off and I’m driving around as the police chief, and that’s wrong?” he asked.
The complaint states that “the work of apprehending and arresting individuals has been the sole and exclusive province of members of the bargaining unit,“ and that the city did not inform or negotiate with the union that the chief would be ”performing bargaining unit work.”
Because of this, the union says the city violated the state Labor Relations Act and the Policemen and Firemen Collective Bargaining Act.
The arrest occurred in March when Duffy, who was not scheduled to work that day, decided to take some time to check in to complaints of drug activity in West Scranton. He eventually arrested a man for just that.
“We’re not out to bust his chops,” Sgt. Bob Martin, police union president, told the Tribune. “It’s not against the chief. The action is against the city.”
Still, Martin admits that Duffy is “morally and legally obligated” to arrest someone he catches breaking a crime. But, he adds, crime fighting should be left to officers, not the chief:
But, the union president said the chief, as member of management, should not actively root out crime or randomly patrol neighborhoods while off duty because it violates union agreements that protect rank-and-file officers’ employment. The union is concerned city administrators will have more leverage to lay off police officers because “Chief Duffy will step in” and do the work, Sgt. Martin said.
“It’s not like I am getting the information and keeping it to myself and playing hero,” the chief said. “I will continue to do this. I’m a public servant.”
I warned you.
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Comments (197)
jedi.kep
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:56amOh dear God. There is simply not enough venomous words to express how I feel about this.
Report Post »Deb C
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:54amHa! Our mayor ( hizzoner ) used to chase down traffic violators ! A Union official saying THAT ? Typical !
Report Post »glennisright.com
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:54amAnother typical example of the union mentality.
Report Post »trooper
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:54amAs part of your duties as a police officer you are required to be armed at all times, on or off duty. So what was he supposed to do when he witnesses a crime while off duty, use harsh language on the perp?
Report Post »yanki161
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:53amIt’s time for every state/city to take a look at and change their Labor Relations Act and Police and Fireman Collective Bargaining Act. Let’s put a stop to this nonsense.
Report Post »redneck
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:53amChief Duffy actions supports the cliché, when you need something done right, and without further dely, do it yourself. Get-er done.
Report Post »Tomfang
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:52amI suppose that if I made a citizens arrest, the union would come after ME.
Report Post »Public service unions should be illegal. There is no reason what soever for them to exist.
riseandshine
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:27amAnd to think that the administartion is attempting strong arm tactics to force even private companies into the union fold to fund their mobacracy and snuff out the private sector altogether
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:37amadministartion?…oops
Report Post »Amazingoly
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:52amTime for a wrecking ball to that union ASAP. Common sense seems to be lacking there.
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:51amI saw the story and checked the date. I could have sworn it was Apr 1st. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! If ever we required proof that unions are completely out of control and actually WORKING AGAINST the best interests of the people here it is. My question is to the rank and file: Is this what you are paying dues for??? Is this what you stand for??? Is this what you want??? If you answer yes to any of those question…YOU’RE FIRED!!! We do not need nor do we feel safe with people such as you ARMED and “PROTECTING” us. ou most definately are not SERVING us. Oathkeepers WHERE ARE YOU???
Report Post »Pyrrhus
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:50amBrilliant.
Report Post »Cymry
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:49amAnother example of (L)iberals (I)n (A)ction which means that truth and logic are MIA. Liberals HATE to be wrong. Ask them the difference between a Natural Born Citizen and a US Citizen and they will give you an obviously idiotic answer after which you can compound their misery by asking them to cite the SCOTUS case that defines NBC. If they have some level of awareness and try to pass US v. Wong Kim Ark off as an answer, smile and know that it’s only a matter of time before the SCOTUS actually takes the matter up (they’ll be forced to) and kicks barry soetoro out on his butt.
Report Post »i want the truth
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:48amThe unions are just waiting for non-union members to mess up. What a disgrace. Good job for the off duty officer that was paying attention and just doing his job!! So you think if an officer off duty sees a murder he should do nothing?? Give me a break.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:48amThe National Labor Relations Board is carrying out new directives either from the White House or through the Regulatory Czar Cass Sustein.
Report Post »david3755
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:48amPolice unions should be outlawed. I worked as an officer for over 30 years and did not belong to a union. Any attempt at a strike should require the loss of a job. If you do not like what you are paid, go somewhere else. No one gets rich being a police officer it is a calling and you derive satisfaction from doing a good job, not bleeding the public out of hard earned money. That union is just a bunch of hacks sponging off the public.
Report Post »LikesToFightGuy
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:44amso when an officer is out of uniform he no longer represents the force or any laws…oh yea i forgot what was i thinking
Report Post »hidden_lion
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:46amI guess they forgot to tell that to the off-duty cop that punched that girl in the face at IHOP
Report Post »teachermitch32
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 11:24amIn the article, I read that the chief was “managment” and could, therefore, not even do this when he was on duty. The implication was that as management he was no longer union. This whole thing is absurd…and dangerous.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:44am@Gold Coins:
I will respect the chief for standing up to the union in doing his duty, most officers are like this in that they have among the most dangerous and difficult jobs about. Yet we do once again get to see the utter stupidity of the unions in their protest of the arrest being made while he is not on duty.
Honestly, how long until the unions demand of the victims of crimes make payment to the unions as a form of ‘services rendered by members’ tax or such nonsenses?
Report Post »lonelyshepherd
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:55pmIf they have their way, this will become the norm.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:43amHow can we file complaint for POTUS failing to do his job?
Report Post »Freedom1984
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:11amImpeach !!!!!
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:42am“Nobody works harder than they have to” Hell we’d all be in jail if the cops arrested a body when off duty!! I‘m still waiting for one to show up when it’s to my benifit!!!!
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:42amAren’t public unions great?
Report Post »ares338
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:41amSTUPIDITY has reached an all time high, even for unions!
Report Post »Caniac Steve
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:51amon that you are 1000% correct …
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:53amWhat goes beyond stupidity?
This union has now reached that level.
Report Post »Beattendown
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 11:28amIf it’s bad now …wait till the crooks join unions
Report Post »Ssenkrad
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:28pm@Beattendown
They haven’t already?
Report Post »yportbill
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:41amthe unions must be knocked down a peg or 10. They are now getting ridicules rein them in now.
Report Post »lovenfl3
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:40amThis is the way the unions try to control the “flow” of work and increase the number of employees. Every union does this. Why do you think companies are relocating to China and India? Just look at the auto industry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpFG2wg6KIU
Report Post »TruthLover
Posted on April 30, 2011 at 1:41amAll the jobs leaving is exactly why Trumka and his ilk are starting to talk about globalizing unions. They see the problem, but their solution is just more insanity.
Report Post »id-look-fat-in-a-burka
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:39amEnough with these Unions. They are gonna be the death of this country!!
Report Post »MastrSSG
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 5:19pmThis is why I’m heavily armed!
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:39am“I think it’s absurd. I’m not going to turn my head on crime that takes place,”
Wait, what is he doing speaking while not on union time? Is this not an illustration how ridiculous and self serving unions are. When, oh when are we going to wake up?
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:36amAnybody that argues unions are a good idea needs to really question they subscribe to traditional, American ideals.
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:39amThis just proves unions are no longer needed or useful.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:42amAgreed. They have problems with the guy making the arrest since he is not on union duty time; so they acknowledge the chief is doing his job, yet he should not do his job due to the fact of being off duty while seeing a crime going on and he did his job.
The sheer levels of utter stupidity of the union here never ceases to be amazing!!!
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:43amThumbs Down on Unions!!!
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:55amSeriously – how can anybody with any sense of character argue that what unions ultimately do to a person, people and culture is not borderline criminal?
Because of unions, we‘re in a debt we’ll never get out of, have adults acting like children and brainwashing the youth into more destructive behavior.
It used to be years ago that enough was enough and sensible heads prevailed. Those heads are long gone.
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:58amAs a Pennsylvania resident and visitor to the Scranton area, I can only say that the cops are out of their minds. Ever since coal mining has left the region, Scranton has been in a downward spiral. And, guess what? When you watch election results for the county, guess where all the Democrat votes come from? Yep, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre (just down the road).
All this makes me kind of wonder if a regular officer saw a crime being committed, such as a robbery, during his off duty time, would he do anything about it?
Now, I hope people understand why I carry when I go out. Cops shouldn’t be arresting people? I am sure the criminals of Lackawanna County are laughing their heads off. Too stoooooopid,
Report Post »Entropy
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 11:13amMan, if that is not testimony to the absurdity of police unions, I don’t know what is. What a bunch of prog hacks.
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:14pmYet another example why there shouldn’t be any public sector unions. Ridiculous
Report Post »michael48
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 12:16pmas I have seen for my 45 year working career…WORK RULES….one man turns the screw to the left…another has to be called in to turn it to the right…INSANITY !!!!!! and the unions want to negotiate with NO TAX PAYER REPRESENTATION???????? (D)= DANGEROUS…mindless, “crap full of lazy” and rapidly approaching MEANINGLESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 1:40pmEnforce the laws of the Constitution…What would they do if it were a citizens Arrest??
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:06pmPolice unions are just another name for Wh-ores!
Report Post »Mee the People
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:09pmunion leaders are crazy these days
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:18pm.
Working as a Chrysler test engineer 32 years ago, I was told I could not use any tools – the rules stipulated that the UAW union guys had to do any work that required tools.
One time I needed an adjustment screw turned with a screwdriver, so I politely asked the union mechanic to bring a screwdriver over and adjust it. He made me wait a few minutes until he finished reading his comic before informing me curtly that he didn’t have a screwdriver. Running an emmissions test cell cost Chrysler $2,000/hour so I was feeling upset but I didn‘t make the rules and Chrysler didn’t want me to cause the union to file any grievances. I reminded him that his union’s rules forbade me to pick up a screwdriver and reminded him that he was getting paid for this, and asked him him to go borrow one. He stormed off in a huff and didn’t return for at least ten minutes to complain to his boss, while the testing was held up. It’s a wonder any work got done. It used to take the UAW shop three days to swap out an EGR valve that I could change at home in 15 minutes.
I knew then and there that there was going to have to be a reckoning with the UAW someday and that it would probably have to occur in bankruptcy court. I was right about the UAW driving Chrysler (& GM) into bankruptcy court, but I was wrong about the UAW getting it’s comeuppance.
Under Obama’s administration, the UAW was just flat-out given 25% of the company in reward for their strong support of Obama’s election campaign, while all the bondholders and many long-time dealers were told to ‘take a hike’. BILLIONS of YOUR taxpayer dollars paid for this political abortion.
I’m tired of Whoopi and other liberals screaming that anyone who criticizes Obama is a racist. I could care less if he was white, green or purple – it is the insanity and corruption of his progressive policies that drives people like me crazy. Can liberals really be so stupid? Yes – because the greed and envy that drives them is stupid and self-defeating in the long term. They demand an unreasonable portion of the wealth that they make it so hard to create, and then riot in the streets when asked to share in the misery that they actually create.
Report Post »N5DVC
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 2:47pmHey, I love cops, but I hope they lay off 10 so they can hire a lawyer to fight this complaint. This will apparently be the only justice that the Scranton police union is involved in.
Report Post »martygoodwin
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 3:45pmYEESH !! union idiots run amok…
Report Post »docvet
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 4:51pmHey, I’m moving to Scranton. Apparently there isn’t enough crime to go around to keep the on-duty officers busy. Yet, as I think about it, maybe the patrollmen get paid per arrest and the Chief is cutting into their income. That’s not such a good idea as increases arrests for any reason or person. OK, Chief, next time you see a crime being commited, call 911 because you are no longer qualified as a law-enforcement officer.
Report Post »UncleBuck
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 7:03pmUnions come from the Communist Manifesto… Were they ever a good idea… think again… We must be strong enough to root our all evil!
Report Post »pappy
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 9:34pmAnd if the cheif hadn’t reacted & someone was hurt or killed the union would be first on line to sue & crucify him. They have entirely too much authority, too much taxpayer money and we need to take it all back.
Report Post »What’s the chances of another amendment banning unions?
oldoldtimer
Posted on April 28, 2011 at 10:23pmThe sad part? The NLRB will find in favor of the union. They have 99.9% of the time since The SEIU lawyer took over the NLRB with Other Democrats.
Report Post »revel222
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 12:58amSgt Martin…why don’t you go back and review your oath procedures…It doesn’t matter who puts the bad guy in jail…He had an obligation ..hats off to the chief.. Time for the Unions to disban…America needs to take their country back!!
Report Post »BlueStrat
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 6:10amWas the perp that the Chief arrested a member of any union?
Might just be a case of union brothers “looking out for a fellow union-member”.
Would not surprise me in the least. Remember, watch the other hand!
Report Post »PA PATRIOT
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 8:06amTake a guess who else calls Scranton home????????
Report Post »YEP…Senator Robert Casey, Jr.
A staunch PRO ABORTION Catholic.
You cannot be both. He must go.
yougottabekidding
Posted on April 29, 2011 at 9:06amMy handle says it all.
Report Post »I’m from PA and now you understand why public unions should not exist! I used to think that the police and fire should be allowed to a large extent, but this idiotic example is the icing on the cake!!!
Here is a shining example and all of you that are protected by volunteer firefighters ( thats what 85% of us) you really should know that those union firefighters hate volunteers and all the good they do.
I personally want Casey out I’d vote for a lizard before him. (same geneology as far as I am concerned)
TruthLover
Posted on April 30, 2011 at 1:38amNo surprise. In Chicago if you turn on a light in a public place you can get fined. That’s a union job. So is plugging something in. Not the SAME job, mind you, but a union job none-the-less. Don‘t be too shocked if beat cops picket this chief’s house with signs that say SCAB STAY HOME.
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