CITY of HOBOKEN

ONE POLICE PLAZA

HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415

November 29, 2018

Councilman Michael DeFusco

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher
94 Washington Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030

Dear Councilmembers DeFusco and Fisher,

This document is a comprehensive report regarding the 2018

Ford Expedition that is utilized for the Mayor’s Security
Detail. It will include: answering questions that have been
posed by both of you, statements that have been sent to blogs,
dispelling some false information that has been posted on social
media, and hopefully clearing up some beliefs that some may have
about the purchase and utilization of this vehicle.

This report will not include the items that Councilman

DeFusco requested on November 16th, for the January 3rd, 2019 City
Council Meeting regarding the costs of the security, however
several questions regarding the vehicle will already be answered
in this document. As far as any emails and any previous
communications between the Police Department and other City
departments regarding this vehicle, I searched my Send and Inbox
and there aren’t any emails, and any documents regarding the
vehicle you should have received in the August 1st Council
meeting packet as a bumper to bumper description of each of the
five vehicles being purchased was supplied to the Purchasing
Dept, the Business Administrator, the City Clerk and Corporation
Counsel.

The 2018 Ford Expedition XLT is a base model, large

police/government vehicle utilized by most of the municipalities
and police departments in this state and country. If a
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415

PAGE 2

municipality utilizes Fords, they purchase Explorers and

Expeditions, if a municipality opts for Chevrolet, they purchase
Tahoes and Suburbans. These purchases are made from government
vendors and these vehicles are made in bulk, specifically for
police and government uses. The vehicle being utilized for the
mayor Security detail, amongst other uses which I will explain
later, is an XLT, base model, not a luxury edition as has been
greatly misreported and misstated. Luxury models of Expeditions
run between $76,000 and $92,000. This vehicle was $62,799, with
approx. $10,000 being due to police required additions. The only
addition I requested was a Navigation system due to all the
locations around the state or New York City, our detectives need
to go to. Utilization of officers cell phones which can take
eyes of roads, or the archaic MapQuest are not 2018 options.

The purchase of this vehicle and the other four vehicles

purchased for 2018, came before you on three occasions. First
was the budget hearing, where most directors or Chiefs are up
for an hour or so, and for the third year in a row, I was up for
2 ½ hours plus. A couple members of the council were not present
for the Police budget hearing, answering questions about Police
philosophy and every single line item which I lay out in my
presentation so that you can ask me anything you need to in
order to understand. At that point, the vehicle request for
approx. $225,000 was for three marked units and two unmarked
units, all SUV Explorers. These would be the first two unmarked
vehicles purchased new by the department in a decade. The second
time was the Public Safety Committee, which I believe was
Councilmembers Doyle, Russo and Fisher where the five vehicles
came up for brief discussion, three marked and two unmarked,
still thinking Explorers, but now one which was going to be
utilized for dignitary protection amongst other uses. The third
was August 1st for the City Council meeting. All the documents
including bumper to bumper description invoices were submitted
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 3

by the HPD prior to the agenda packet going out. One of the
vehicles was changed to be a larger vehicle, an Expedition
instead of an Explorer. I made that decision sometime mid-summer
after speaking with the two officers who handle the security
detail, our ESU officers, and other police departments who have
dignitary protection details (most cities). The cost for the 5
vehicles became $233,000 and City Council was made aware of that
prior to the August 1st meeting in writing. I then attended the
August 1st City Council Meeting, like I do every meeting for the
past 16 years, ready to answer any question that any of you had
on any police related issues on the agenda, from overtime, to
purchases, to grants, to issues that come up in New Business,
and without a doubt, full descriptions of the five vehicles and
their intended uses. On the agenda was 56 items, where you had
more than 15 people speak in public comments and another 10
speak on resolutions and ordinances. The vehicle vote was
approved on consent agenda which was a surprise to me.

Sometime later in August, I informed Mayor Bhalla and Chief

of Staff John Allen, after a weekly City Director’s meeting that
when we receive our shipment of vehicles, the security detail
would no longer be using Director Pellegrini’s Ford Explorer due
to it being too small and not being a police vehicle without
police suspension package, lights, sirens, or places to hold
weapons, and instead the new Expedition will be appropriately
used for the detail, amongst other things. The vehicle arrived
approximately one month ago and once it began being utilized
came the stories on blogs of “Ravi’s pimped out vehicle” or the
“Luxury vehicle purchased for Bhalla’s sole use and pleasure”.
Both of these are major false narratives.

I have had a councilmember post on social media and make

comments on blogs “The City Council approved 5 police vehicles
but it was not disclosed, when the finance committee inquired,
that one of those cars would be a luxury SUV for the mayor’s
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 4

Exclusive use”. This post which received 1 retweet and four

likes has three glaring lies in it. I did not dispute those lies
on social media and really ignored them as I am not going to get
in the middle of any anti-Bhalla, pro-Bhalla political rhetoric.
I am always accessible to all City Administrators, City Council
members and other dignitaries 24/7 and am fair and impartial
with every one of you. My goal and ultimate responsibility is to
provide the safest community possible with our 166 employees,
and do anything I can to positively brand our police department
and our city, which you should also want to happen and be apart
of.

Another Councilmember emailed the statement that they had

blind trust for me but how did they not know about this
purchase. First, I never sought any blind trust, as I sit
through six hour council meetings until the end, when I don’t
have to so I can be there to answer any questions any of you
have, I answer all of your emails or calls as soon as possible,
even on holidays, and then I get the “why didn’t we know”
statement and the insinuation of new distrust over this vehicle
when it came before you three times and the record I have made
for myself and the department as I start year 5 of being Police
Chief and first of being the President of the Hudson County
Chiefs of Police. I hope this report will correct those feelings
and I hope this report will lead to council members refraining
from publicly posting false information about the police
department or me. We are entering a 2019 Citywide Council
Election year. I implore you to not politicize public safety as
any shots against the Mayor or for political gains of the Mayor.
There has never been a time that I did not respond to any of the
nine of you as fast as possible. I make the commitment to work
with the Mayor and his administration, the entire City Council,
all our true community leaders, all of our PD employees sworn
and civilian, and engage with the public in various ways to best
serve this city. Today, I take the couple hours away from all
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 5

that, in order to end the nonsense going on about this one

vehicle.

When inquiries started flying about the “need” for this

mischaracterized Luxury vehicle (again, base model , government
contracted), some acted as we had never purchased an Expedition.
This was the third year in a row that an Expedition was one of
our 5 vehicles. In 2016, it was for one of our two Emergency
Service Unit trucks. In 2017, it was for our Traffic Enforcement
Bureau. In 2018, it was this vehicle that was purchased for the
Investigations Bureau to be used for dignitary protection, the
mayor’s security detail, and movement of special victims or
families of persons that became deceased in sudden death type
situations (i.e. homicides, fatal crashes, suicides, etc). The
vehicle is not “pimped out” as stated by a couple blogs. It is
obviously shiny because its brand new, it has standard floor
boards because it is high, has standard tint in the back that
comes on all police models, and has lights, sirens, radio, and
navigation as well as a police suspension package. We are not
going to utilize a Prius or similar economy vehicle for the type
of work this vehicle will be utilized for.

I am now going to move to some questions posed by

Councilmembers DeFusco and Fisher that may not have been
answered yet:

-when did you know you were going to buy this vehicle for this
use?
Ans. Early summer but not finalized until submitting invoices to
multiple departments in the City Administration and brought
before City Council August 1st

-when you put forth your budget in feb/march, was the vehicle
included?
Ans. At that point it was an approximate price of $225,000, but
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 6

it is not part of the Police Budget, its actually from the

City’s Capital Budget, but I always mention during my budget
presentations, my intent to purchase five vehicles. I walked
into my position in 2014 with an archaic fleet of 2005 police
vehicles. It is not prudent to purchase 15-20 at one time like
had been done in the past so I have been rotating the old ones
out at five per year, keeping that annual cost at approx.
$225,000 instead of half million to $1 million hit which is not
financially justifiable. I point out again, police car purchases
do NOT come from the police budget, but based on transparency, I
always raise that issue. I also need to remind you that on two
consecutive years, I lowered my police budget by approximately
1% each year, while increasing personnel, increasing equipment,
adding new vehicles like the one in question, during a time when
costs of personnel and products are rising, not decreasing.

-when the legislation was put forth in August to purchase the

vehicle, why weren’t the details provided to the council?
Ans. First, it was provided to the Council in writing, and
second, I was there with the five invoices in hand expecting to
be called up about the purchase, which you know I would have
fully detailed for the nine of you, but go back to the minutes
and see how many things were on consent agenda, because other
items were discussed during a four hour plus meeting. I need to
add a question back at you in this answer, do you think with all
the scrutiny, oversight, OPRA, and the level of transparency I
show 365 days per year, that I would try or think I could
succeed in trying to sneak the mayor an exclusive luxury
vehicle, for his sole use, or would want to even do that and
raise any question of how I have run this police department for
the past 4 plus years, or how I have carried myself in
leadership positions as Union President, Vice-President,
Sergeant, Lieutenant, OEM Coordinator, and Chief over the past
26 years. You need to go back and ask yourself if that is fair
questioning of me or not.
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 7

-does the same level of risk exist today as what I articulated

to you in January, if not more or less and has the FBI given me
recent advice on this?
Ans. For security reasons, I will not answer that in this forum,
but can answer this to you each privately and confidentially or
in closed session as a whole.

-can you give color around how this vehicle will be used, what %
is for non-mayoral activities?
Ans. It will be used for 1) Mayoral Security detail when any of
our officers (Lt. Brereton, Officer Colon or a fill-in) are
transporting the Mayor for any of his mayoral responsibilities,
it will be used by our Investigations Bureau or ESU team to move
any dignitaries (e.g. Senator Booker)in confidential manner,
move high profile victims or persons, it will be used to
transport special victims to other higher agencies for their
privacy, it will be used to move families of sudden death
victims for protection from media (e.g. the families of homicide
victims, suicide victims, fatal crash or any high profile deaths
or crimes). As far as a percentage, that is impossible to
predict as we will have busier months or years than others. It
should also be noted that we expect this vehicle to be utilized
for 10-15 years, so whoever the next mayor is (if mayor Bhalla
is not Mayor 15 yrs from now), if they request or a higher
agency recommends a security detail for them, this will be the
vehicle earmarked for it. Also, you as council members, if any
of you come under some type of threat that a higher agency deems
credible and recommends to use a protection detail, this vehicle
will be utilized.

-Is this vehicle used for activities of the mayor that are not
official business?
Ans. No, and it shouldn’t. The only drivers of this vehicle are
police officers and the vehicle is kept overnight and on
weekends at Police Headquarters (not parallel parked on the
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415
PAGE 8

Street like some blogs or council members have stated.

-who is allowed to ride/be in the SUV?

Ans. Again, we only use police officers only as drivers. As far
as occupants, I would think because of the many reasons for its
use, I would say any one who is being moved by police for a
security, legitimate or reasonable purpose.

-has the mayor’s family driven in this and if so, what were the
circumstances (official or unofficial)
Ans. On two occasions, one, his children rode in the vehicle to
be dropped off at school on the way to a meeting, and second,
his wife was in the vehicle when the Mayor and her were taken to
an event at the Governor’s mansion. Contrary to the belief of
some, Mayor Bhalla tries to limit the usage of the security
detail even in some instances where we feel it should be
utilized. Also, if he is attending some official event, (e,g,
meeting with the Governor) and his wife is also attending, it is
not reasonable to think that they will go in separate cars.

-what have you used in the past when “dignitaries” have come to
town?
Ans. Usually older unmarked vehicles or marked large vehicles
like our van, expeditions or larger explorers.

Note: I think it’s important to understand the number of

officers used for dignitary protection in other cities in New
Jersey and the types and number of vehicles that are used
exclusively for Mayor details. I have spoken to Chiefs in the
area, in and out of Hudson County, and know we use less
personnel numbers and have similar or less vehicle usage and
sizes.
 CITY of HOBOKEN
ONE POLICE PLAZA
HOBOKEN, NJ 07030-5704
Kenneth F. Ferrante Telephone: (201) 420-2002
Chief of Police Facsimile: (201) 714-9415

Page 9

I hope this answers all of your questions and clears up

some of your concerns.

Sincerely,

Kenneth F. Ferrante
Chief of Police
Hoboken Police Department

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