These Bergen County towns are luring away Paterson police officers — with better pay
PATERSON — Detectives Muhammed Dombayci and John Rikowich were so successful at getting guns off Paterson’s streets that they won awards this month from a North Jersey law enforcement group.
A day after the awards ceremony, the two teamed up with another highly regarded street crimes unit detective, Wisam Salameh, to arrest a homicide suspect.
But Dombayci, Rikowich and Salameh won’t be protecting Paterson much longer.
They are part of a wave of seven Paterson cops who in recent weeks handed in their resignations to take better-paying police jobs in five Bergen County towns: Demarest, Dumont, Englewood, New Milford and Paramus.
The other four departing officers — Jenesis Lavezzari, Kevin Brito, Fernando Saint Hilaire and Malcolm Waite — have been part of the patrol division.
What did the departing cops say?
Paterson Press interviewed several of the cops who are resigning. They asked that their names not be attached to their comments, for fear of violating departmental restrictions on speaking to the news media.
“It’s heartbreaking,” one of the officers said about the decision to leave. “I love Paterson. This is a great job. But we’re putting our lives on the line for low pay. It’s not right. It’s not acceptable.”
One officer said he had to give up an apartment and move back in with his mother because his police salary was not enough to cover his bills. Another cop talked about letting a gym membership lapse for months because of a lack of money.
“We don’t want to leave Paterson, but it’s like nobody cares about us here,” said another of the departing cops.
Several of the officers have young children.
“You have to think about your future. You have to think about your family,” said a third resigning officer.
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What are Paterson police officers paid?
Rookie cops in Paterson start at $33,000 per year. Policemen's Benevolent Association President Angel Jimenez said it amounts to $16.32 per hour, a wage comparable to what workers make at fast-food restaurants. But people flipping burgers don't face the dangers of policing one of New Jersey’s highest-crime cities and the challenges that confront cops at a time of widespread law enforcement reforms and social justice accountability, Jimenez said.
The seven departing officers have three to five years of experience in Paterson. Six of them make salaries in the $40,000 range, and one is paid about $54,000. All of those interviewed said they would be reaping immediate pay increases in their new police jobs. One said the bump would be $10,000 extra.
And the gap in salary between what Paterson pays its cops and the salaries offered in nearby towns gets bigger as officers gain seniority, said those who have resigned.
The PBA’s last contract expired in 2019, meaning city cops have not gotten cost-of-living raises in more than four years.
What did officials say?
Mayor Andre Sayegh in 2022 criticized the Paterson Board of Education for letting its contract with city teachers lapse a few months. But the mayor — who frequently boasts about hiring more than 100 new cops since he has been in office — did not respond to questions about the resigning members of the Police Department and about the delay in reaching a new PBA contract.
“We’re going to continue losing cops because we’re not paying them enough,” said City Council President Alex Mendez. “The only choice they have is to leave.”
Mendez said the starting salary for Paterson police officers should be somewhere between $40,000 and $50,000. About half of Paterson’s 400 cops make six-figure salaries, a group that includes ranking officers and those with more than a decade on the job.
“Officer retention and well-being is an important factor in Officer in Charge Abbassi’s strategic plan for the Paterson Police Department,” said a statement issued by a department spokesman, referring to Isa Abbassi. “As part of that effort, we are aware of the need to offer a competitive living wage comparable to other law enforcement officers in the State of New Jersey.”
“Salary adjustments are a contractual process overseen by the city administration and Paterson officers have not seen a new contract with the city in years,” added the spokesman.
City Hall officials have not given any explanation for the delay in resolving the long-expired PBA contract.
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58 officers have left Paterson since 2019
Jimenez, the PBA president, said the low pay for those in their first few years in the department has been compounded by City Hall delays in processing payments for off-duty jobs, such as security at road construction sites. He said it sometimes takes six months for cops to get their money after they do the off-duty jobs.
The seven cops who are moving to other police departments join eight others who left earlier this year for other law enforcement jobs. Officials said 58 Paterson officers have transferred to other departments since 2019.
Jimenez said replacing the departing cops isn’t as simple as hiring new recruits and sending them to the academy.
“You learn so much your first few years on the job,” the PBA leader said. “You can’t replace that experience overnight.”
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police officers leaving for better pay in Bergen County
