A Jersey City police officer that was just elected to the board of education last week received a 90-day suspension from the department yesterday, which he attributes to “an administrative oversight” and still plans on serving on the governing body.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This suspension stems from an administrative oversight on my part concerning a sensitive case I was assigned to two years ago. I openly acknowledge my mistake in the course of investigating this case and take full responsibility for my failure to adhere to established policies and procedures.,” Police Det. Dejon Morris said in a statement.
“I commend the Jersey City Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit (JCPD IAU) for holding me accountable for my actions and my deviation from established protocols. I firmly believe that no one should be exempt from the law, and accountability must be upheld when policies and procedures are not followed, including in my own case. I am fully committed to bringing the same level of leadership and accountability to my role serving the Jersey City Board of Education as the JCPD IAU has demonstrated in my own situation.”
A November 13th personnel order from Acting Police Chief Robert Kearns says that Morris “is suspended from pay and duty” from that date through February 13th, 2024. No reason for the suspension is provided.
Morris, a member of the force since 2005, ran on the “Education Matters” ticket backed by the Jersey City Education Association last week, where they pulled off their fourth consecutive clean sweep.
He narrowly defeated Trustee Lorenzo Richardson for the third and final three-year term on the board that was up for grabs, securing the victory by 289 votes, tallies from the Hudson County Clerk’s Office show.
Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association (POBA) President Joe Cossolini and JCEA President Ron Greco could not immediately reached for comment Tuesday morning, while a city spokeswoman did not return an email seeking comment.
I witnessed an example of this last night at the JCBOE caucus meeting (available online to view entirely). As the public comment portion began a very simple and legitimate request was suggested to survey parents of Special Education to improve services and allow more transparency when parents are confused regarding protocols and procedures. Not a far fetched idea by no means. The response from the majority of the board members was outstanding. The superintent promised an audit (even though she did mistakenly explain why 2 kindergarten Special Education classes were forced to transfer from a school) , and the trustees spoke to how important an audit could be, I was really impressed.. Score a point for Jersey City! One board trustee even spoke to her personal connections to challenges of Special needs services. You could feel the commitment and compassion from the board members and the importance of an audit and possible survey.
UNTIL…Trustee Younass Mohamed Barkouch spoke. This young man clearly felt discussing the audit and survey for Special Education was unwarranted. He believed the Director of Special Education was on top of the situation and supported this with “I spent a weekend retreat with Dr. Crisonino”, so let’s not get up in arms. He did a better job defending Dr. Crisonino’s practices than the director himself. The unseasoned ear of Mr. Mohamed Barkouch did not listen to his fellow board member Afaf Muhammad (African American) when she personalized the question to launch the audit. Now, I am sure this young man has a bright future and will eventually bring a lot to the table. Unfortunately, at this time he comes off as an out of touch disconnected board member looking to appease rather than lead. He literally reminds me of a high school student looking to “memorize the material” rather than “interpret the material” (that’s often what separates a good student and a great student).
It will be disappointing if other board members don’t feel what I’m sure other parents would feel if they had time to watch the meeting (available online). The immaturity is insulting to parents of Jersey City Public schools. The audacity would be comical, if we weren’t talking about our children. Please listen to the archive of this meeting online at JCBOE website, you can actually hear Mr. Mohamed Barkouch playing a video game as he forgot to log off the zoom at the end of the meeting. Jersey City deserves better.
Remarkably, I believe this young man has a lot to offer our school community. I want to see him do great things, but I am asking for Mr. Mohamed Barkouch to publicly apologize to the parents of JCBOE and his fellow board members (specifically Afaf Muhammad) . Also, I strongly suggest Mr. Mohamed Barkouch spend an hour in a school special education classroom. Hey, let’s make it PS 15 in Greenville, I’m sure he will be welcomed. I think this would better prepare you to answer the call…… more than a weekend retreat.
If the trustee doesn’t feel comfortable with those suggestions, I think he should be removed as a board member.
Glad I didn’t vote for him. He was always a dirty nasty bag. God don’t like ugly