Public Safety vs The Public

It did not take long for the major local TV news media to react after Acting Police Behr made his dramatic attack on Bloomfield Councilman Carlos Bernard. The first was NBC News 4 who came to the next meeting to film segments and interview the opposing subjects.

A few days later, ABC News 7's leading investigative reporter, Sarah Wallace, ran several exclusives on the indictment of 3 BPD officers for assaulting a resident and covering up dashcam evidence that proved his innocence.

At Monday's council meeting, it was announced that Newark's newly retired Police chief was being hired to manage a major investigation of the BPD.

On Tuesday Eyewitness News7 ran an exclusive interview with the two newly cleared veterans and other officers who repeatedly zeroed in on Internal Affairs Detective Sergant John Seirchio for posting a "hit list" of officers he was focussing on.

On Ash Wednesday, Bloomfield Life filed one of many recaps of the events leading to Monday's Council Meeting. It referenced Sergant Seirchio's founding in 2013 of a lobbying group called Public Safety United.

".....In November of 2009, Mr. Sierchio was appointed by Governor Christopher Christie to serve on his transition team. He served as a member of Governor Christie’s Law and Public Safety subcommittee....." 

The above quote was from Seirchio's lengthy bio on the Public Safety United website. Seirchio's goals in founding the group are clearly stated to include: 

...Public Safety United will strive to improve the relationship and to share ideas between government leaders and its membership.
...Public Safety United will encourage, through the establishment of a voter data base, all of its members, their families and friends, to engage in the electoral process in all Local, County, State and Federal elections.
...Public Safety United will be a lobbying organization for all retired public safety officers in the State of New Jersey and throughout the United States of America and make its voice heard.
...Public Safety United will establish a Political Action Committee and Fund to help promote and finance the campaigns of candidates who support public safety and the issues.

While the group is open to all, memberships for Public Safety personnel is subsidized by higher rates for the public and $1,000 sponsorship status. Despite the sophisticated website. it's difficult to find any online news of their accomplishments. Yet with dozens of local sponsors and hundreds of members, the group seems to be one of the most profitable businesses in Bloomfield.

It may become even more profitable if it decides to sponsor lawsuits against our town.