Community leaders in Trenton's South District have just been informed via South Ward Councilman Jim Coston that Detective Luis Reyes is being reassigned from Community Affairs to Patrol.
The Councilman, who emailed the news while away on vacation, reports that Patrol Captain Paul Messina has made the determination that Det. Reyes will be better utilized on Patrol.
Now, we don't purport to know why or how this decision was made. But even from this distance, it appears to be a bad one.
Det. Reyes has worked very, very hard at building a solid relationship with the members of the community throughout the South Policing District. From the beginning, with Lt. Gonzalez and continuing through with Lt. Maldonado, Det. Reyes has shown a real passion for building and maintaining that all important bridge between the community and the police.
The fact that he has worked within the community for so long, coupled with his dedication and the fact that he is bi-lingual makes him a perfect fit for his current assignment.
Detective Reyes, along with his colleagues in the other three police districts, has just been recognized by the Trenton Council of Civic Associations as Public Employees of the Year. This must be an indication of the kind of job he and the other Community Concerns Detectives are doing.
Whatever rationale Captain Messina might have for this reassignment needs to be checked.
This is a poor management decision.
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