Dear Fellow Sergeant,

We hope that you enjoyed the holiday season and are looking forward to the New Year with excitement and enthusiasm. Our primary goal is to finalize the contract and correct the pay disparity that affects some newly promoted Sergeants. We understand the frustration brought about by this untenable situation and assure you that we are working extremely hard to rectify it as quickly as possible.

Crime is surging throughout the country, and the nationwide law enforcement profession continues to face unprecedented dangers. On New Year’s Day, two Police Officers from the Honolulu Police Department in Hawaii were shot and seriously wounded by a carjacking suspect who had led police on a wild chase. Please keep those brave officers in your thoughts and prayers while they are being treated for their injuries.

The SBA continues to speak out against the lunacy that is making it so difficult to do our jobs. We were the first police union to denounce New York City Council Member Kamillah Hanks of District 49 on Staten Island when she supported the ludicrous City Council, Intro 586 bill, which is euphemistically known as the How Many Stops Act.

The bill requires Police Officers to fill out voluminous paperwork detailing circumstances of an encounter, including the race, ethnicity, gender, and age of all persons involved. This is mandatory in routine encounters such as an officer looking for a lost child or detectives conducting a canvas during a homicide or violent crime where the timely gathering of information is of paramount importance to public safety.

When Councilwoman Hanks was courting police support during her campaign, she sold herself as a pro law enforcement candidate whose father had served the NYPD. However, when she opted to support this idiotic bill, she was exposed as yet another political chameleon who will say and do anything to get elected and whose governing style is dictated by which way the political winds are blowing.

Adhering to the requirements of this bill is in no way conducive to effective policing and will only bog down already overburdened Police Officers with reams of paperwork that have no practical or statistical value.

Thank you for continuing to perform your duties in such an exemplary manner, even amid so many challenges. We appreciate your trust and faith in us and assure you that we will work diligently to finalize the contract and correct the pay disparity issue. We will keep you apprised of all developments as they occur.

Best wishes for a safe, happy, healthy, and bountiful 2024.

Fraternally,

Vincent J. Vallelong
President
Sergeants Benevolent Association