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May 6, 2008 6:45 pm US/Eastern
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Pregnant N.J. Cop Denied Bid For 'Light Duty'
Police Chief Says Town Does Not Have Pregnancy Policy
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) ―
A decorated Ocean County police officer is being forced to choose between her unborn child and her career.
Officer Sonia Henriques is a patrol officer for the Ocean Township police department, and out of concern for her unborn baby's health and safety, she and her doctor thought it best she be assigned to light duty until she gives birth. Her boss, however, denied the request.
The officer, who is two months pregnant, has been instructed not to talk about it, so her union is for her.
"There's plenty of work for her to do," said Bruce Friend of the Police Benevolent Association. "We have openings in the detective bureau right now, openings in dispatch. And our records department is always in need of assistance."
But Chief Antonio Amodio told CBS 2 that kind of work was not possible.
"The township as a whole does not have a policy and specifically the police department does not have a policy for maternity leave or light duty leave," he said.
But Henriques' regular beat is not without risk. She was recently awarded a commendation for bravery for convincing an armed man pointing a gun at her to surrender.
"The last thing I would want to see is something happen to her or her unborn child, but I don't have the authority as the chief in this management here to say I can give you a job for eight months and pay you at your current salary to do a job you weren't hired to do," he said.
In the meantime, while Henriques enjoys the best wishes of family and friends for the joyful news, she faces a dilemma unless the department reverses its decision: to protect her child, must she sacrifice her career and income?
Of the township's 62 officers, only three are women. On Monday night, the mayor of Ocean Township urged the police department to develop a policy for pregnancies.
Other local agencies such as the NYPD say they handle pregnancies on a case-by-case basis.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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