January 19, 2011

A wrenching day for laid-off NJ police

"When a doctor is laid off, he's still a doctor" said one cop. An officer loses the ability to identify himself as such

By Mike Newall
The Philadelphia Inquirer

CAMDEN, NJ — Officer John Martinez couldn't sleep Monday night. With 10 years on the Camden Police Department, Martinez, 38, was halfway to a pension. His wife is three months pregnant.

Hours before he was to turn in his badge, reality had sunk in.

"When a doctor is laid off, he's still a doctor. He just doesn't have a hospital anymore," the Haddon Township resident said Tuesday at the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Camden, where several hundred officers and firefighters met for a morning protest march.

But when a cop is laid off, "he's nothing," Martinez said. "He can't identify himself anymore as a cop."

People get arrested for doing that, he said ruefully.

Martinez, one of 235 police and firefighters laid off on Tuesday, was losing his career, his paycheck, and also his identity, he said.

The thick-shouldered man has worn a badge for 20 years, as a part-time officer in Sea Isle City, N.J., and then in Merchantville before joining the Camden force. Standing in the crowded hall, at what felt like a wake, Martinez talked above the din and punctuated his sentences with anxious laughter.

"I'm still in a state of disbelief," he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his SWAT sweatshirt.

The threat of being laid off had gnawed at him for months. Holding out hope was easier than dwelling on his regrets and fears, Martinez said.

He has no college education. He has never learned any other job skills. He has never worked as a carpenter or electrician.

Martinez has talked to other big-city police departments, but they have told him they want recruits 35 or younger. He does not want to move far from New Jersey, where his 10-year-old daughter lives with his former wife. Martinez chased a career he loved, and now he was apologizing for it.

He could be called back if the union makes concessions and the mayor applies recently acquired state funds.

"If I can't find a job as a police officer, I'll work as a laborer," he said. "I need to provide for my family."

His wife, Suzanne, sat on a stool next to him. She took off from her job as a nurse to be with her husband. She has been his rock, Martinez said.

"Everything he loves is going away," she said.

A few SWAT members joined Martinez. Ten members of the 21-person unit were losing their jobs.

"It's a sad day in the history of the department," their commanding officer said during the group's final roll call last week.

The men are like brothers to Martinez. "I trust them with my life," he said.

Now they talked of mortgages and unemployment applications and how, in recent days, patrol cops had seen North Camden corner boys wearing T-shirts that read "1-18-11: We Take Back the Streets."

In the lodge, the room hushed as a former union president spoke.

"This town needs a prayer," he said.

The police and firefighters soon filed into the street and walked a few blocks toward police headquarters.

Martinez told his wife to stay behind because of the weather. A friend walked next to Martinez.

"My brother's a cop in Dallas, and he said they're even talking about this on the news out there," his buddy said.

"They hiring in Dallas?" Martinez joked.

At 10th and Federal Streets, traffic stopped and, with firefighters applauding in respect in the cold rain, Martinez and the other laid-off officers symbolically lined the sidewalk with pairs of police boots they had carried. Each pair represented an officer who lost a job.

A receiving line formed with officers hugging each other. Men cried.

"God bless you, brother," they told each other.

Martinez's eyes began to well, and he was quiet for a few long moments as the procession made its way to the fire administration building, where police officers clapped as the firefighters piled up their helmets.

Afterward, Martinez embraced his friends.

He needed to go. He had to do one more thing. He had to head over to police headquarters and turn in his gun and badge.