Before Redd's noontime remarks, made in her City Hall office, jammed with TV cameras, laid-off police officers and firefighters joined together under the icy rain downtown.
The police lined Federal Street with a row of boots they would no longer need. Firefighters, some with family members in tow, applauded.
"The [police] chief's favorite saying is, 'We're going to put as many boots on the street as possible,' " said Bob Thomas, laid off after 10 years as a police officer and now unsure how he can afford care for his developmentally disabled son.
"Here's your boots. They're on the street, and there's no one in them."
In a sign of how poor the city of 79,000 is, Camden residents who saw the boots stopped to see if they were being given away, Thomas said.
After the police ceremony, the procession of public safety officers headed to the fire administration building, where dismissed firefighters, some in tears, walked through a path of their brethren and laid down their helmets. Their police comrades applauded.
Luis Sanchez, 31, a father of four who fought an "all-hands" fire Monday morning, broke down when he set his helmet down.
"All the hard work and sweat you put in, going through the academy and on the job, and they take it away that fast," he said.
Firefighter William Johnson, 25, who served in Iraq, said he would visit his Marine recruitment officer Wednesday to reenlist for active duty. "I need to secure a future," he said.
At the news conference, Police Chief Scott Thomson reiterated that the department would be realigned to keep Camden as safe as possible. State and federal agencies will help, he said, and the Camden County Park Police are riding in squad cars.
