Longtime Trenton police union boss voted out; attacks against director pick up
TRENTON » The city patrol officers have a new leader representing them.
Michael Schiaretti was voted president of PBA Local 11 at the end of June, replacing longtime union boss George Dzurkoc.
Dzurkoc was instrumental is signing off on the appointment of Trenton Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr. after Mayor Eric Jackson was elected in 2014. The former PBA Local 11 boss was so close with Parrey that he photoshopped an image of him and the director closely snowboarding together in March and posted it to social media.
Since Dzurkoc was given the boot, attacks have ratcheted up against Parrey.
Just last week, video surfaced of Parrey referring to residents as “hoodrats.”
That video is believed to be leaked by officers within the department since it was taken by body-camera video and shot last August. Only officers within the department had access to the footage and possibly knew of its existence.
PBA Local 11 members were active in the past for expressing displeasure with former city police directors Ralph Rivera and Joseph Santiago. Leaks were a common occurrence during their tenures.
Since Parrey was a former Trenton police captain, many viewed him as the closest the department would ever be to having a police chief again. Parrey was named police director in July 2014 by Jackson.
For the most part, criticism and leaks against Parrey have been minimal since he took over. Coincidentally, that is until recently when the new union leadership was put in place.
Police sources with knowledge of the new union guard said PBA Local 11 members are upset about side jobs and OT.
Schiaretti, the son of a retired Trenton police officer bearing the same name, did not return a message seeking comment.
Efforts to reach Dzurkoc for comment were unsuccessful.
PBA Local 11 represents approximately 200 officers.
The president position was a full-time gig in the past. But that changed in recent years as Dzurkoc, who served as president for a decade, was forced to patrol the streets due to a lack of officers.
As for the director being in the hot seat, the first-term mayor stood by Parrey after his “hoodrats” comment surfaced despite calls for his resignation.
“The guy is of high integrity,” the first-term mayor said last week. “He’s done a great job as a police director for me and for this city.”
Approximately 48 hours after the video was published, Parrey issued an apology.
“I want to apologize for the poor choice of words that I used during the course of a conversation I had with two of my officers,” the police director said, noting he is passionate about his work. “By no means was my intention then, or has it ever been, to offend the good law abiding citizens of our community.”