Officer(s) Involved: Tonawanda Police Chief James Stauffiger defended the substantial fining of dozens of his officers for an alleged unauthorized labor strike during a snowy period earlier this year.
Synopsis: Starting in late January and continuing into February, Tonawanda received so much snowfall that it ran out of road salt, and that was probably a contributing factor to an increase in police calls. Officers were also required to spend sixteen hours on mandatory training with new department-issued firearms. All this was during a staffing shortage when seven officers retired or left at the start of the year.
One of the officers says the allegations are not true. He says he went to work, participated in on-duty training, and even made a drunken driving stop during the period when it snowed “every day.”
Andy Thompson, a Tonawanda Police officer, and the president of the union representing them, the Tonawanda Police Club, says Chief Stauffiger and the town’s Democratic leadership were upset the police department did not generate enough revenue for the city and did not meet their perceived ticket quota.
This year, Tonawanda Police officers have issued 123 tickets, according to a filing with New York’s Public Employment Relations Board. Between 2021 and 2024, the department issued between 439 and 653 over the same period. Town leaders alleged in the document that the decrease is the result of officers striking without permission in violation of the state’s civil service laws.
Chief Stauffiger, whom the union is asking town residents to oust, said Thompson’s allegations are “without merit.” He added “I stand behind the charges filed against the union with the Public Employees Relations Board and the individual officers.”
Thompson is among the nearly 50 officers accused of going on strike without authorization for one hour a day over a nine-day period and has had two hours of pay docked for each of those days, according to a letter he received that was signed by Tonawanda Town Supervisor Joe Emminger.
“We didn’t strike. We showed up to work every day. We did our jobs every day,” Thompson said. “We didn’t write enough tickets, and we didn’t put enough money in the town’s coffers. And they decided they’re going to fine each officer.”
Ticket quotas are illegal under New York law, Thompson noted, and workplace retaliation can be, too.
“There’s no due process, and this whole thing was done between the supervisor and the law firm that represents the town, who also donates large amounts of money to the town supervisors’ campaign and the Town of Tonawanda Democratic Party’s campaigns,”according to Thompson, who cited public records.
“The town is on a witch hunt to persecute its own police force—paid for by you, the taxpayers,” Thompson added.
Outcome: At time of publication, Emminger stated he expected most, if not all, officers will file appeals for the fines. The looming fines have only deepened the rift between town leadership and the police union. Emminger emphasized the need for dialogue and the need to resolve the issue quickly.
