YAEDE'S POLICE EQUIPPED SUV

Most Hamilton residents probably expect that their Mayor would be driving a township vehicle when on official township business. Would they be surprised, however, if their Mayor drove a police car? No not a marked Hamilton Township black and white, but how about a new SUV fully equipped with a police package. That’s right our newly appointed Mayor has a vehicle with a police radio and some.

Apparently, Ms. Yaede fancies herself as a Hamilton Police officer. The problem with  Yaede's illusion is she is not a sworn police officer and has zero law enforcement experience. Yaede has no training whatsoever with the FBI, NJ State Police, or even a local police academy. Kelly Yaede is a civilian who is completely unqualified to play cop. She just happens to have been appointed Hamilton’s interim Mayor by her 3 running mates, Messrs Kenny, Pone and Gore, who also approved the use of her police equipped vehicle. Ironically, Kenny, Pone, Gore and Yaede provided embattled Mayor Bencivengo with a new 2012 Chevy Tahoe just weeks after he had been arrested and charged with public corruption by the FBI.

Yaede has appointed herself as Hamilton’s Public Safety Director, following in the footsteps of her former running mate, and convicted former Mayor, John Bencivengo. NJ law appears to be abundantly clear barring civilian public safety directors, like Yaede, from having her play police car. The NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police has published a “white paper” outlining Limitations of Authority under NJ Law of Civilian Police / Public Safety Directors. That document sites NJ case law; opinions of the NJ Attorney General and NJ Statutes supporting the prohibition. N.J.S.A. 52:17B-67 specifies that a police officer is “any employee of a law enforcement unit…other than civilian heads thereof.” The Attorney Generals opinion also specifically lists many prohibitions for a civilian Police director, including operating a police vehicle or a vehicle equipped with a police radio.

 How much did our unelected mayor’s perk cost the taxpayers? Why does she insist on travelling in a vehicle prohibited by law? Remember... that absolute power corrupts absolutely!