Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - Three days after authorizing the town’s attorneys to file an improper practice charge of an unlawful strike against the Town of Tonawanda Police Club, the Town of Tonawanda has released detailed information supporting their decision.
The Town of Tonawanda maintains the strike commenced on or about 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2025, approximately eight-and-a-half hours after a town police officer was lawfully served with disciplinary charges in relation to significant misconduct while on duty.
The town advised the police club through its counsel in the evening on Jan. 29, 2025 that it was aware of the unlawful strike, and that it needed to stop immediately. Despite the notification, the unlawful strike did not end until on or about 4 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2025.
The town’s preliminary findings relating to the strike are not based on a ticket quota, which does not exist in the Town of Tonawanda. The findings are based on historical numbers and the numbers immediately after the strike ended.
The Town of Tonawanda Police Club President also participated in the unlawful strike from its first day, evidencing the union’s involvement, encouragement, and support.
The town has 53 police officers who patrol the town, and one K9 officer, who issue tickets. Six of those officers are on probation as newer employees, while 48 have already passed probation. The town believes the police club advised the probationary officers not to participate in the strike.
During the strike period, a total of 123 tickets were issued, with the six probationary officers writing 71 tickets across 80 days worked, making an average of .89 tickets per-day. The vast majority of the 48 officers who are not probationary status wrote the other 52 tickets, across 380 days worked, making an average of .14 tickets per-day.
In comparison, during that same date range in 2024, the total number of tickets was 557, for 2023 was 653, for 2022 was 439, and for 2021 was 505.
Days that officers were engaged in other work (e.g., field training, etc.) are not included in the data, because they are not evaluated on their productivity (e.g., traffic enforcement) on those dates.
Additionally, for the months of January in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, the average written tickets ranged from .8 to 1.3 per-day.
Related
Records show that during 2024, Town of Tonawanda Police Club President Andy Thompson issued an average .91 tickets per-workday. Thompson participated in the strike from the first day, Jan. 15, 2025, and wrote zero tickets.
Between Jan. 15-31, 2025, he worked six days, and he wrote zero tickets. Between Jan. 15-Feb. 5, 2025, he worked nine days and wrote zero tickets on eight of those days. On Feb. 6, 2025, the first day after the strike ended, he wrote two tickets. The next day, Feb. 7, 2025, he wrote two tickets.
Between Feb. 6-25, 2025, immediately after the strike ended, he worked eight days and wrote nine tickets, an average of 1.13 tickets per-day in that time period.
The Town of Tonawanda will continue to follow the law and afford the officers and the Town of Tonawanda Police Club their due process as it works through the procedure outlined in the law. The full investigation is underway.
The town is required by law to report its findings within 60 days of Feb. 5, 2025, the day the strike ended.