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We’re Rolling: A Look at the history of The Police Unity Tour

 
  • Survivors
  • PUT
The Producers
Fade in…


It’s 1997. Two somewhat-physically-fit cops are draped in their Police Unity Tour jackets, sitting on one side of a conference table at the New Jersey State PBA headquarters. Across the table, NJ State PBA President Michael Madonna and Executive Vice-President Anthony Wieners relax in black leather chairs. The two men are bicycle cops Pat Motuore of Florham Park and Harry Phillips of West Orange, and they are telling of this bicycle ride they just made to Washington D.C. for Police Week called the Police Unity Tour. They need a little help with the Tour, so they have literally placed all their cars on the table.




Harry: We spent all our money covering tour expenses, so


we are selling these Unity Tour miniature cars to try and


raise some funds and keep it going for next year. We thought


the NJ State PBA might want to get involved. We know you


understand why we put this event together. You get that


feeling of what it’s like when you’re in the National Law


Enforcement Memorial.




Pat: It started with an idea but we have a group of people


with the intensity and commitment. There’s so many of us


with the same goal to remember how thankful and blessed


we are.




Madonna and Wieners reply: Yes, we can be your partner on


this. With your vision Pat, we can make the ride every year


something that will put New Jersey on the map.


Everybody shakes hands. Cut to Pat and Harry and Pat walking


out the front door. They stop to look at the check they


received.




When Harry Met Pat




Dissolve to Harry Phillips stopping in the midst of his bike


patrol to answer his cell phone.


Cut to Pat talking into his cell phone:Hey “Hep,” I’m getting


together a bunch of guys. We’re going to do a ride to D.C. for


Police Week.




Harry: Pat, that sounds crazy…Count me in.


Harry begins walking south through the Law Enforcement


Memorial. The screen at his back is showing scenes from the


inaugural Unity Tour in 1997. Eighteen brave men look like


they are riding in a wind tunnel. Harry starts talking to the


camera…




I’m Harry Phillips, Executive Director of the Police Unity


Tour. I retired from West Orange when Pat told me I needed


to run the event full time. I rode in 10 tours before femoral


artery bypass put me on the support team full-time. Pat


stopped riding the year before. We have three guys left who


have made every trip.




Cut to Harry standing in front of life-size map of the northeast


seaboard. He makes like a weatherman…




Pat drew a basic line from Florham Park to D.C. and that first


year we were riding over mountains and all kinds of…stuff.


It was miserable. We stayed in some hotels that were an


hour away from being a one-hour motel. I was drying


myself with a wash cloth, that’s how bad it was. Twenty-two


were supposed to ride. Eighteen showed up at the start.




Cut to Harry riding his bike into the National Law Enforcement


Memorial in D.C., and continuing…




We were doing this to raise awareness for Line of Duty


Deaths. But we were very competitive. Then, once we rode


through that memorial and saw the names on the walls,


everything changed. It wasn’t about you; it was about them.


Nobody could say a word. Now, I’m not a religious guy, but


this is how powerful it was: When we rode past the walls,


you could hear the names on them, saying, “Where have


you been?”




Riding with the stars


Cut to Harry walking through what could be the Museum


of Modern Art. He is showing life-like cardboard cutouts of


some of the Tour’s easy riders. He looks at each on as if to


say hello, then turns to the camera and begins…




 So this is Pat in his day job as chief of the Florham Park PD.


To the 14,000-plus Tour riders who have crossed the finish


line, he will always be our chief.




And this, of course, is NJ State PBA President Tony Wieners.


He is John Wayne on a bicycle. He culminated his career


with his third Tour in 2014. Said he was riding his farewell


for all 32,000-plus members of the PBA as well as the 25,000-


plus names on the wall.




Meet Mike Pellegrino whom you know as the Ewing Township


Local 111 Sate Delegate. He’s been riding since 9-11.


Just did his 12th three months after hip replacement. He


always tells me, “Harry, once you start riding you just can’t


stop.”




Yes, this is Lisa Preslar, the Garden State C.O.P.S. President.


She rides for her husband, Lakewood Officer Niche, who we


lost six years ago. She worries about her riding reminding


officers about what could happen to them. She is why we


ride.




Everybody knows Pat Colligan from the great work he is


doing with pension and benefits for the State PBA. He is Jim


Belushi in bike pants. With legs like RoboCop.




The bookends here are Newark Bike Patrol officer Hernandez


Thomas and Berkeley Heights Local 144 officer Mark


Stallone, who teaches bike patrol at the Union County


Police Academy. They have ridden the most times.




The last cutout magically turns into a real person.


 This guy needs no introduction. It’s John Hulse.




Hulse steps off his bike, puts his arm around Harry, cues the


music for the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane” and the lights go


dim. He clears his throat.




 We are fortunate to have Harry Phillips. When you chisel


through his exterior that’s as hard as that wall at the memorial,


inside you find a wonderful, giving generous person


who really believes in his profession and the people who


choose it.


Fade to black. 




Training Days


The scenery passes by on a deserted highway when suddenly


Pat Colligan rides into the picture as if he’s trying to catch


up. His legs are churning and he’s breathing heavy. He’s


been training hard because this year he toured with the


cops from the LAPD and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.


In between breaths, he squeezes out some words…




We had probably one of the most difficult winters to train,


but ideally, you want to ride a little bit in the fall until it’s too


cold. You get the occasional day in the winter when the wind


is dead and you take a long ride with a few people. You try


and do spin classes to keep your legs going. Spring weekends


are good to get out for 30 or 40 miles with another rider


to help you push it.




Colligan picks up the pace, pumps harder and throws his


hands up like he just hit the finish line. As he slows, he rides


toward the camera and provides a final training tip.


 It’s not that way for everybody. I get pictures from the L.A.


guys riding on the Ocean Highway in February when sleet


is hitting my windows.




Let it Ride


Fade in to the parking lot of the Target in East Hanover.


Riders are lined up in rows. Montuore paces up and down


the ranks sounding a little like George C. Scott at the beginning


of “Patton…”




 You couldn’t imagine anything to reach so many other


states and countries as we have here in New Jersey. Everybody


believes in this with heart and soul. It’s our thing. It’s


our cause for the job we serve and the people we serve.


Before we roll, I’d like Mr. President to say a few words.




From the middle of the pack, we hear President Wieners


shout…You make me so proud by the way you honor those who


made the supreme sacrifice. Everybody get there safe.




Ache, Battle and Roll


 The sounds of slot machines spinning and paying off fades


as the camera swoops past the casino at Caesar’s in


Atlantic City to find the PBA mini-convention letting out


for the day. Some members have hung around and are circled


around Tony and Harry. Think the group from Ocean’s


11 with everybody trying to interrupt each other.




Hulse: See, while there are other great fundraisers for great


causes, this really requires a lot. You dedicate yourself to ride


in any weather. You know you gave your sweat and skin, and


I feel like I really contributed in so many ways.




 Harry: You’re riding two 100-mile days in a row. That’s like


running a marathon on back to back days.




 Thomas: Before we ride, we do the chant from Gladiator –


“We take everything and give them nothing in return.”




 Colligan: You start to hurt a little but almost every bike has


the picture and name of a fallen officer. As weird as it


sounds, you get inspired. That gets you to the next break.


You refresh and start then next 20-mile hump.




Tony: The first year I rode it was through pouring rain. We’re


coming up on a hill, and I’m thinking, “Quit your bellyaching.


Think about who you are riding for.”




Pellegrino:You get to see a lot of areas you wouldn’t see, but


it’s the smells, too. You pass a lot of farmland and get a lot


of different smells.




 Colligan: If it’s hot, you have to stay on the potassium and


sodium and make sure you’re hydrated. But keeping hydrated


is a fine line with having to go the bathroom.




 Stallone: Everyone chips in to make sure everyone gets


there. If you have to push somebody up a hill or block the


wind, the ultimate goal is to get everyone there.




 Harry: They’re going to suffer but that’s their way of paying


it forward. How can you do it? Because it’s the right thing:


Make sure no name in the memorial is ever forgotten.




 Hulse: Every turn of the wheel gets you closer, and the closer


you get, the more amped up you get . The honor of doing


it gives you the pedaling power.




 Fade out to the sounds of slot machines spinning and jackpots


hitting…




Survivors


 Cut to a rest stop somewhere in Maryland. Cars are slowing


down on the highway because they see a group of women


posing for photos. Zoom in to see these are the spouses of


cops who died in the line of duty. They know each other


through National Concerns Of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).


They are the royalty on Tour. Lisa steps forward from their


bicycle-built chorus line, motions the camera to follow her


and says…




We weren’t even sure they wanted us here, but they put that


all to rest the first year I rode. They treat us like princesses,


getting our bikes ready, toting our luggage and putting


us at the front of the pack. We recently told them how


much it means to us to be able to ride. And you know


what these guys said? “Thank you for allowing us to


ride in your husband’s memory.”




 Lisa wipes a tear and hugs two cops from Lakewood


who worked with Niche. Dissolve to the line of bikes


pulling out of the rest stop and a group of workers


loading up vans.




Supporting Cast


 Jackson Browne’s “The Load-Out” plays over footage


of people carrying luggage, cases of water, barrels of


bananas and other assorted items to load into vans.


The music softens and Hulse’s voice can be heard over


the footage.




I remember my first ride. I got into my hotel room and my


bags were there. It’s all because of the support people. We get


all the glory, but without them, we couldn’t do any of this. If


you don’t believe me, take it from a guy who has been there


every year.




Stallone is now the voice-over the footage…


 The first year, if you broke down, you had to fix it yourself and


catch up. Now, while we’re in bed in our hotel rooms, the


support team is up all night getting us ready for the next day.




Come Together


Cut to RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C, which is filled


goal-line-to-goal-line with bicycles and riders. A pack mustering


at the 50-yard-line engages in a group high-five, and


out of the pack bursts Hernandez Thomas and in that deep


voice says…




 Every year, riders from other states tell me, “You guys in


New Jersey have so much camaraderie. In our state, it’s


not like that.” I love this event because it brings us so


close. That’s why everybody keeps coming back. There’s so


much unity and it pumps you up. Over to you, Harry




The camera pans to find Harry in the stands with the sea of


riders behind him. He looks back at those that have come


from Chapters 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 37 and the Port Authority


– 1,800 total only because there wasn’t room for any more– then says…




 After 9-11, it started to blow up with riders from New York,


California, Australia and even Israel. It’s become a blue


thing. Cops are cops no matter where you are from.




The Finishing Touch


A shot from a camera strapped to a bike on top of a hill shows


the riders stretched over the two miles leading into the National


Law Enforcement Memorial. Moving toward the front of


the pack, the camera stops to get some of our stars coming to


the end. Here’s Tony…




 There’s no way I could even describe this feeling. Whether


you are a spectator or rider, everybody has dark sunglasses


on to hide the tears. And everybody remembers why they are


here.




What do you think Mike Pellegrino?


 I would love for every police officer to be able to do this one


time to be able to get this feeling.




What is that feeling, Mr. Colligan?


 You can’t put the feeling into words. It’s very humbling and


it never gets old. I’m going to see one of the survivors, a son


or daughter holding up a picture of dad, and that is where it


ends for me.




Mark Stallone is about to finish his 17th Tour…


 When I pull in, I will make eye contact with one of the survivors.


They will tell me they are so grateful we are doing this


to sustain the memorial and keep their loved one’s memory


alive.




And at the front of the pack about to arrive at the memorial


is Lisa Preslar…


 I cry my eyes out when you see everybody along the route


clapping and thanking you. I will pull in and go down the


side where Niche is and put the flowers I have been carrying


for 300 miles there. And then I realize that these four


days weren’t so tough when this is waiting for me at the end.


 


The camera follows the riders around the memorial until


they come to rest at the podium where the official donation


is presented. Another $1.8 million has been collected this year,


bringing the total from 18 years to nearly $26 million. And


Pat steps up to the microphone doing the “Patton” thing


again.




 We are so proud of all of you for embracing those who have


been killed. You have chosen to do this ride, like you have


chosen this profession, and you are seeing all the blood,


sweat and tears culminating at a place of such dignity and


honor and sacrifice. In this waterfall of emotion, I wish I


could hug everybody that came through here today. You


look to left and right and realize they’re heroes because they


chose a career to help others before themselves. As we serve


together and remember our heroes, we are proud to ride for


those who died.




Cue the theme from “Chariots of Fire”…Fade to black.


Politics and Governing is not a spectator sport
 

Rob-Nixon-headshot












 The NJ State PBA has had a lot to say the past few years about the need for members to become engaged or re-engage in the political process. Practically speaking, an organization isn’t worth much if its members can’t be counted on to fight together for the causes and the people that control your day-to-day lives. But the call to political action means a lot more than just showing up during elections. In fact, there are a number of things members can be doing every day to make a difference in the towns where you work and live and in the State Legislature before and after the votes in an election arecounted.




I can appreciate that some people are distrustful of the political process or simply don’t like to get involved in politics. But being involved should not be equated with being engaged with the governing process. Being politically active means a person plays a role in the election of candidates for office or actively supports a political party. But being involved in the process of governing is a different, but no less critical, way of being engaged.




Now is the time, well before elections are taking place, to decide whether you want to make a difference. The State PBA is looking for members who are willing to take part in that process now. If you want to be on the front lines of an election to support or oppose a legislator who will decide whether you have a decent pension, health benefits and the right to collectively bargain a contract, then PBA President Pat Colligan is encouraging you to go to www.njspba.com and click on the “Election Volunteers” link.




Serious decisions about how you do your job, as well as those “pension and payday” issues, are on the line in the next NJ State Legislative Session, so it is going to be vital that Republican and Democratic Legislators, and their leadership, know the PBA was in the streets and is a political force to be reckoned with come November. Campaigns need volunteers and candidates know who was there and who wasn’t during the fight. The sight of a team wearing PBA t-shirts delivering literature or answering the phones is going to mean more to a candidate than you know.




However, not every member is going to be comfortable or have the time to knock on doors for a candidate, volunteer during a campaign or help to get voters out to the polls on Election Day. Politics has a way of turning very normal people into huge skeptics. That is both sad and destructive to developing the kind of government we all truly want. But if being a political volunteer isn’t your thing, then there is still a significant role you can play in making a difference in the governing process.




So what’s the difference between being involved in politics and being involved in governing? Some would argue there isn’t much, and, for sure, it is the two parts of the same equation. But you can still make as much of a difference by being part of the governing process as you can being part of the political process. This is especially true at the local level of government. Instead of sitting on the coach watching yet another rerun of Big Bang Theory  or Law and Order , go to your town hall and sit in on a Council meeting. These meetings can be far more entertaining than any TV show, and, for the PBA, your attendance can have multiple impact. First, a new face in the audience at a Council meeting will get the attention of your local elected officials. I know from firsthand experience that after you spend months seeing the same faces that someone new in the crowd will make you pay attention to a new face. If you wear something with the PBA logo on it, that is going to have its own impact.




You don’t have to do anything but sit there and pay attention to the resolutions, ordinances and speeches. Learning the ins and outs of local government is very valuable, and you have a great chance of changing how you are governed by being engaged and, if warranted, speaking out when you don’t like something. Chances are, your local leaders, after seeing you, will say hi and you can introduce yourself as a resident, a taxpayer and a PBA member. They won’t forget you, especially when you start bringing friends. Every PBA Local should already be sending members of its Executive Board to sit in on these meetings and carefully follow what is going on where you work.




You can also play a role in the State Legislature just by picking up the phone or emailing them about the issues the State PBA supports or opposes. They hear from me and the State PBA Leadership every week, but a call from a constituent is worth its weight in gold. In fact, stop into your District Legislative Office and say hi. If your legislators are in, ask to introduce yourself. They work for you.




Whether you want to volunteer on a campaign or just become engaged in how your system of government operates, your activity is going to have a positive impact. While it is your “civic duty” and right as a citizen, it is your obligation as a State PBA member to one of the many speaking and working to preserve and protect the law enforcement profession in New Jersey.


Court deals Christie Administration another blow
 

PBA LEGAL CORNER


The Appellate Division recently dealt the Christie


administration another blow to its efforts to undermine members’ pension rights. The court put the brakes on an attempt by the acting director of the Division of Pensions & Benefits to undercut the authority of the PFRS Board of Trustees. In a decision that we litigated on behalf of Woodbridge Local 38 and SOA, Harrison Local 22 and SOA and Ramsey Local 155 and the NJ State PBA, the court held that the acting director did not have the authority to refuse to implement a decision by the PFRS Board of Trustees. A number of other PBAs and municipalities took part in this consolidated appeal. The issue in the appeal was whether certain longevity and senior officer pay provisions of agreements constituted creditable, or pensionable, compensation under New Jersey’s pension laws.




The issues involved in this appeal have been pending for some time. We have discussed them at Board of Delegates meetings, at the Collective Bargaining Seminars and at the Mini-Convention. In each of the cases before the Appellate Division, the provisions at issue involved senior officer pay clauses which become effective after an officer had more than 20 years of service. They also involved longevity clauses which did not follow a consistent progression with the same percentage increases at regular intervals during an officer’s career. Instead, each of the longevity provisions at issue included some type of increase late in an officer’s career, either an extra increase in the percentages or a shortening of the eligibility years. By way of example, in Woodbridge, the senior officer pay differential of 5.5 percent was available to officers who completed 22 years of service. In the longevity benefit in Woodbridge, the guide provided for 2.5-percent increases at the start of the 5th, 11th, 15th and 21st year of service, then, there was another 2.5-percent increase at the start of the 23rd year of service. The last increase came two years after the previous one.




The Division of Pensions & Benefits staff initially concluded that these provisions, and similar provisions for PBAs in other municipalities, were not creditable compensation because they were increases in anticipation of an officer’s retirement. We appealed these determinations on behalf of the PBAs we represented. The PFRS Board of Trustees disagreed with the Division staff and concluded that these provisions did constitute creditable salary. That should have been the end of the case. However, after the Board of Trustees issued its decisions in each of the cases, the Acting Director of the Division of Pensions & Benefits notified the PBAs that she would not implement the Board of Trustees’ decisions in each case because she believed they were contrary to law.




Although we won before the Board of Trustees, we were in the unusual position of having to appeal to the Appellate Division. In effect, we appealed a decision which we won. However, we had no choice because the acting director refused to enforce the PFRS Board’s decisions.




In an April 15 decision, the Appellate Division resoundingly agreed with our position and concluded that the acting director did not have the authority to refuse to implement a decision of the Board of Trustees. The Court noted that the acting director did not cite any authority to support taking the unprecedented action of reviewing and reversing a decision by the Board of Trustees. The Court agreed with us that only the Board of Trustees had the authority under the pension laws to decide issues of creditable compensation. The Court emphasized in no uncertain terms that the acting director’s lack of authority to implement the final decision of the Board of Trustees “is untethered to any statutory or regulatory authority.” The court also called the acting director’s actions “unprecedented” and concluded that it undermined what was the Division’s role to provide only staffing support to enable the Board of Trustees to carry out its role.




Finally, the Court was critical of the role that the New Jersey Attorney General played in these appeals. The Attorney General not only served as the legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, but also represented the acting director in these appeals. The Court noted that the Attorney General decided to represent and defend the “legally untenable actions” of the acting director. By law, the Attorney General advises the Board of Trustees, and is present at every Board of Trustees meeting. In addition to this role, the Attorney General represented the acting director and her position that she had the authority to refuse to implement the Board’s decision.




The Court did suggest a procedure for any future disputes which arise. The Court suggested that the Attorney General has the authority to advise the PFRS Board of Trustees on what it believes to be the proper legal interpretation of creditable compensation under the pension laws, or on other issues as well. If the Board of Trustees acts in “defiant refusal” of this opinion, the Attorney General can petition the Court to compel the PFRS Board to abide by the Attorney General’s legal opinion. The Board would, in these circumstances, probably have to hire outside counsel. Because the Attorney General did not do so in these cases, the Court concluded that the acting director had no authority to refuse to implement the Board of Trustees’ decisions. Because the Court decided the case on these “jurisdictional” grounds, i.e., whether the acting director had the authority to refuse to implement the Board’s decisions, the Court did not address the merits of the issue: whether the senior officer’s pay and longevity provisions at issue are creditable compensation. As we have discussed at many meetings, these cases do not involve the typical types of longevity provisions which increase at regular intervals and by consistent percentages. They also should not affect any senior officer’s pay provisions which become effective before an officer reaches 20 years of service, as long as they otherwise meet the definition of creditable compensation.




Local PBAs would be well-advised to review any longevity and senior officer pay clauses in their respective contracts with their attorneys or the State PBA to determine whether there may be an issue in the future. They should consult with their attorneys in discussing what steps, if any, are necessary to insure that any longevity or senior officer pay provisions continue to be creditable compensation if they already are, and have been, part of pensionable compensation.


Attention please, my Union Brothers & Sisters
 

Pat-Colligan-headshot


I write this on the very day our NYPD Brother Brian Moore will be laid to rest,and as we are about to enter the week that means the most to us in law enforcement –National Police Week, the solemn week when we gather at police memorials throughout the country and honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. Tens of thousands of us gather in Washington D.C. on May 13th and attend the candlelight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in the shadows of where more than 20,000 names of our fallen are carved into the granite walls. This has been a tragic year for law enforcement in New Jersey, and a devastating year for our profession.




I don’t have to tell anybody that proudly pins a badge to his or her chest and holsters a weapon every day that we have not exactly had a banner year. We now have “journalists” that want to catch us when we make mistakes or try and make a sensational police scandal out of what would have been just another routine story. They are the same journalists that want to milk our funerals for every tear shed when we die.




We have “legislators” right here in our own great state that want us to have an extra opportunity to get indicted with special prosecutors and special grand juries based solely on their perception of how they feel a grand jury should have acted. We all watch with stunned amazement when six of our fellow officers in Baltimore get charged by an inexperienced “prosecutor” to quell a riot without any semblance of an investigation. Race baiting opportunists are waiting to pounce the moment they think they can advance their shameless agenda, regardless of who and what they leave in their wake.




Unfortunately, the list goes on and on and is growing by the day. Our job has gotten exponentially harder due to people that have no idea what we do and what we see every day, or why we even do some of the things we do. Someone can watch a few episodes of Cops and be a certified expert on police policy and procedure.




Our job isn’t always pretty. Nobody calls 9-1-1 when a child makes the honor roll or a spouse gets a big promotion. Cell block extractions don’t happen because some inmate is getting moved into a nicer cell with an ocean view. We aren’t always taking a picture with a kid who wants to grow up and be a law enforcer, and we don’t save a life every day. Sometimes, what we do is ugly and violent and doesn’t look good on the 6 o’clock news or YouTube. Justified? Thankfully, almost always. We aren’t infallible either, though, and those that hate and despise us solely because of what we do and what we represent certainly have been given enough to talk about it lately from a few among us.




These are the times when we should be reflecting about our profession, who we are and what we represent. Besides our brothers and sisters in the fire service, no other profession on the planet grieves like we do. There are no websites or national memorials dedicated to fallen office workers or accountants, and they don’t travel one hundred or two hundred miles when one of them that they never even met before dies. When we are off-duty, none of us pass a motor vehicle stop on the side of the road without making sure things look OK, and we still take a last glance in our rear view mirror after we pass. These are exactly the times we need each other more than ever. New Jersey traditionally had a law enforcement bond that was unequaled and envied throughout the country, and I’m watching it disintegrate before my eyes. We are losing the respect our profession deserves, and we can only look in the mirror and see why. Border wars and feuds belong on a high school sports field, not in a patrol car, jail or a police department locker room. We are all facing the same pressures from the public, politicians and, unfortunately, even some of your own administrations. And I’m not expecting the pendulum to swing anytime in the near future.




Our brothers and sisters in law enforcement, regardless of their union affiliation or the patch that they wear, bleed the same color blue when they die, and their families are facing the same difficult pressures your families are facing. There is nothing illegal about using good judgement and discretion the last time I checked. We don’t have many friends left. Let’s not shorten the list any further.