By Frank Parlato
TONAWANDA, N.Y. – In a winter where the roads stayed clear but the tickets disappeared, a 22-day stretch in the Town of Tonawanda saw traffic enforcement drop to a 25-year low — not due to weather, but what officials now allege was a silent, coordinated and illegal strike by the town’s police union.
From January 16 to February 5, officers stopped cars but wrote just 123 tickets — a 72% drop from the prior 22 days, and a 77% drop compared to the 22 days following. The enforcement drought began the day after a veteran officer was suspended for misconduct.
And the ticket drop seemed clearly union-directed. Forty-seven union officers wrote fewer citations combined than six non-union probationary cops did alone.
Union officials say it wasn’t a strike. But the numbers — and the timing — tell another story.
The matter is now in the hands of New York’s Public Employment Relations Board, which will decide whether the blue line turned into a picket line – and what penalties to impose.
Was It an Unlawlful Strike?
From January 16 to February 5, traffic ticket issuance in the Town of Tonawanda fell to its lowest point in 25 years. Internal records show 47 union officers wrote just 52 tickets during that period. Twenty-six officers wrote not a single citation.
Police wrote 442 tickets in the 22 days before and 533 in the 22 days after. But for the 22 days in the middle? 123.
Internal data also shows that six probationary officers — who lack full union protections issued 71 of the 123 tickets. These six officers wrote more tickets than the other 47 union members combined.
Parking Tickets Drop
It wasn’t just traffic stops that vanished from the books. The yellow slips on windshields almost evaporated. Police issued 141 parking violations in 22 days, down from 706 in 2024, 618 in 2023, 753 in 2022, and 837 in 2021 for the same 22-day period – an 80% drop.
Cause and Effect
According to Town Supervisor Emminger, ticket issuance dropped the day after Police Chief James Stauffiger suspended Officer Bikramjit Singh for misconduct and lying. Singh would later resign.
While Union President Andy Thompson has denied that a strike occurred, the precise timing — beginning within 24 hours of internal disciplinary action —raises concerns about his veracity. His excuses were seemingly equally feeble.
Thompson claimed that officers wrote fewer tickets not because they protested Singh’s suspension but because they responded to more service calls. Department records show that during the 22-day slowdown, officers responded to 3,764 calls and issued 123 tickets. In the 22 days that followed, they handled 4,191 calls — a 10% increase — yet managed to issue 533 tickets.
When the calls went up 10%, ticket writing quadrupled.
The Salt Excuse
Union President Thompson claimed officers could not write tickets due to icy roads and a townwide salt shortage. Thompson’s claim was visual — a town frozen still, where cars crept, and officers held their pens. However, town records show Tonawanda maintained a full supply of road salt during the period in question — enough to actually lend salt to neighboring municipalities.
Officials say roads were clear. The excuse was not. The town had salt. They had plows. And with that revelation, the ice gave way. The excuse cracked.
They’re stocking snowplows and helping the neighbors. Thompson is pretending they were skating to work.
A Snowy Excuse
Next, Thompson said it was snow that prevented drivers from speeding – hence no tickets. Snow made the drivers go slow.
Dash cam footage from 66 police shifts during the 22-day ticket slowdown shows snowfall in four shifts. Officials confirmed that only two days of measurable snow occurred during the period, and the accumulation was minimal — described as a “dusting.” Not storms. Not whiteouts.
Only 4 of 66 shifts encountered snow on the ground. Snow was not a significant factor in the dramatic drop in ticketing during the strike.
The roads were dry. Or wet. That’s not a snowstorm — that’s a snow job. Snow? That’s BS with a snowflake on top.
Thompson might have checked the online weather reports before offering his snow excuse.
Law Says Investigate and Punish
New York’s Taylor Law forbids public employees — including police officers —from striking. This includes “slowdowns,” where workers intentionally reduce output to protest management. Town Supervisor Emminger says what happened in Tonawanda was a coordinated reduction in ticketing, immediately following a disciplinary action. The town board voted to refer the matter to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which is tasked with determining whether the officers violated the law — and, if so, what penalties apply.
All 47 officers involved in the alleged ticket-writing slowdown received formal letters outlining potential payroll deductions. An investigation is underway.
But Union President Thompson takes no responsibility for the directiions he evidently gave his members. He blames Chief James Stauffiger for retaliation, abuse of authority, and fostering a toxic work environment.
And while denying any organized work stoppage, Thompson launched a full-fledged campaign against the police chief — hiring a public relations firm, creating a website, and distributing yard signs calling for Stauffiger’s removal.
Let them Off With a Warning, Maybe?
The Public Employment Relations Board will have the final say in determining whether the officers will pay penalties or if the union is suspended for a period. Possibly, when the truth finally gets issued, it won’t be a warning.