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Formation Of Camden County PD Gets Thumbs Up From NJ Appeals Court

By David Madden

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) - Almost three years ago, the city of Camden replaced its entire police department with a new force run by Camden County. The city police union has been fighting in court to get that decision reversed.

This week, a two judge appellate panel threw out the court action.

The judges sided with an earlier court ruling that found the city, the county and the state did everything by the book, despite the contentions of Camden FOP Lodge 1. The 29 page opinion was warmly received by county officials.

"It could not have been a better opinion if we wrote it ourselves," Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli told KYW Newsradio. "It's iron clad. There's no wiggle room."

The union that had represented Camden's city force maintained Camden County lacked the authority to form a county force and that another judge didn't give their case a fair hearing. The appellate panel denied the union on every front.

Looking ahead, Cappelli says "it's time to put all the litigation behind us and continue to focus on providing the best public safety service possible for the residents of Camden city."

The change was made to put more cops on the street at a lower cost. The union's attorney did not call KYW Newsradio back on what, if anything, they might do next.

It's important to note the county department was formed, in part, to get other towns on board and that hasn't happened. But Cappelli predicts it will, eventually, as rising costs make consolidation a more attractive option.

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