Volume LXX, Number 30
www.towntopics.com
Princeton Police Dept. Will Adopt Body Cams To Ensure Transparency
PSE&G Upgrading Gas Facilities on Four Streets . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Council Approves Loan Program for Sprinklers in Washington Oaks . . . . . 9 Recalling Norman Mailer’s 1968 Convention Coverage in the Summer of 2016 . . . . 13 Moving Up the Ranks of U .S . Men’s Lightweights, Princeton Alum Nase Making Olympic Debut at Rio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Competing in National Playoffs, PHS Girls’ Soccer Star Marciano Honed Her Skill . . . . . 29
PU Grad Gevvie Stone Rowing to Rio Summer Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 33 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Music/Theater . . . . . . 17 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 24 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 9 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 33 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Weddings . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Though financial and logistical obstacles remain, the Princeton Police Department (PPD) is on track to adopt the use of body cameras for its officers, according to police spokesman Lieutenant Jon Bucchere. Thirty thousand dollars in grant money has been promised by the state, and the PPD is looking for additional sources of funding, possibly from Princeton and Rider Universities. Costs for different body cam models range widely, with additional significant budgeting required for video storage. “Having the body cameras will provide greater transparency in day-to-day action,” Mr. Bucchere said, “and complement the technology that we already use.” He added, “We’re dedicated to keeping with national best practices. There’s a movement toward police officers using body cams, and we want to be part of that, as soon as we can logistically put the pieces in place.” He noted the value of dashboard cameras, which have been used in police vehicles for many years, and he stated that body cams would be even more valuable. “With everything going on in the country and locally recently, the body cam provides greater transparency and greater perspective beyond the scope and range of the dashboard cam. You want to be as transparent as possible. That’s the direction we’re heading in.” Mr. Bucchere described how the technology for body cameras continues to improve. “It gets better and better,” he said. The cameras, usually clipped to the shirt front, “are smaller, and the batteries last longer.” Police Chief Nick Sutter has stated that body cams will increase the public’s confidence in the Police Department in helping to accurately represent what actually happens in police-civilian encounters. Policy decisions about protection of privacy and access to public records must also be put in place before final implementation of a body cam program. Many police departments throughout the country have adopted body cameras, though some controversy remains over the reliability of videos to accurately record encounters and about the possibility Continued on Page 4
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Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Hospital’s Partnership Will Enhance Outpatient Care
Princeton HealthCare System’s newly announced partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Health System could lead, eventually, to an expansion of the four-year-old campus on Route 1 in Plainsboro. But for now, the focus of the shared future is on things like ambulatory care and expanded clinical capabilities. “The relationship will take some time to mature,” said Barry Rabner, PHCS president and chief executive officer. “But for people who live in central New Jersey, it will mean easier access to care because we expect to be investing in ambulatory care. We also will have better access to care. And we expect to see the research showing up at the bedside more quickly than it has.” PHCS announced last week that it had signed a letter of intent to pursue a partnership with Penn Medicine, after considering 17 health systems across the country. “The thing we really liked a lot was their reputation for advanced clinical care,” said Mr. Rabner. “They are a significant research institution, an excellent medical school, and have a very strong financial performance.” Another point in Penn’s favor is the fact that area residents already use its services. “We’ve done some testing, and we
found that Penn enjoys the best reputation among people in our service area of any organization we tested,” Mr. Rabner said. “A lot of people who choose to get care today outside of central Jersey are choosing to go to Penn already. So between their reputation and the fact that people are already getting care there, it made a lot of sense.” Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine is ranked among the top five medical schools in National Institutes of Health funding. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been recognized
repeatedly as an Honor Roll Hospital in the US News and World Report Best Hospitals ratings. Mr. Rabner’s son, daughterin-law, and son-in-law are all graduates of the medical school (“Purely a coincidence!”, he said, with a laugh). Last week’s announcement was only a preliminary step. The two health systems will now conduct due diligence and negotiate definitive agreements, a process expected to take several months. Following that, there are regulatory approvals to obtain, a process which could take up to Continued on Page 8
Stalled Bridge Replacement Project Has Rocky Hill Residents Worried Route 518 is one of the busiest roads in southern Somerset County. Between Rocky Hill and Franklin, the bridge on that roadway over the Delaware and Raritan Canal has been closed for replacement since late last month, causing frustrating traffic tie-ups and concerns about safety among residents of Rocky Hill. The July 8 order by Governor Chris Christie to suspend work on all “nonessential” road projects — in response to a Senate stalemate over which taxes
should be cut in exchange for raising the gas tax to fund road work — has halted the construction work, making matters worse. The detour currently in place re-routes traffic down Crescent Avenue to get to River Road. For those who live on that street, the trucks rumbling down the road are “an accident waiting to happen,” said resident Caron Wendell. “Normally, traffic flows from 206 down Continued on Page 8
BLUE SKIES BLUE WATER: Two pool pals enjoying the place to be during the recent heat wave. Community Night Out will be held at the Community Park Pool on Tuesday, August 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. (Photo by Emily Reeves)