What We Learned From Teaneck's Law Enforcement Forum

TEANECK, NJ — Police policy pertaining to body cameras, hiring practices and staff diversity within the Teaneck Police Department were discussed during a Thursday community forum.

The "joint venture" between law enforcement and members of the community, according to a release from the town, was organized to "create important dialogue between residents and law enforcement.”

Police Chief Glenn O’Reilly, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella all spoke during the forum.

Restoration Community Church Reverend Dan Meys urged people on the call to “walk in other people’s shoes.” That means law enforcement must try to walk in the shoes of people who have been discriminated against, and vise versa, he said.

Township Manager Dean Kazinci said the police department is “unequivocally” in favor of body cameras, and are working to secure funding for more, which would take an amendment to the capital budget. The cost of those cameras, according to O'Reilly, would be around $300,000.

When asked by resident Laura Johnson when the township could secure funding, Kazinci said the Township Council would discuss the budget at a July 14 meeting.

This funding would be acquired through a bond, according to Kazinci, meaning the police department's budget would not be increased to fund the purchase of additional body cameras.

To a question regarding the Teaneck Police Department's policy on chokeholds, O'Reilly said that in most cases they are banned, but can be used when the use of deadly force is needed.

Ramona Guthrie cited Eric Garner and George Floyd as examples of subjective determinations of when the use of deadly force is necessary, and asked if there is anything that "precludes" the department from banning them outright.

O'Reilly said there wasn't anything that precludes the department from doing so, but also didn't commit to banning them fully. Rather, he said it was an issue that could be continually revisited.

The Teaneck Police Department's use of force policy was updated after New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued a directive related to use of force on June 5.

The meeting follows a June protest in Teaneck against the death of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, in which members of the Teaneck community, and the family of Phillip Pannell, spoke out about policing in the community.

Pannell, a Black 16-year-old, was shot by white officer Gary Spath in 1990, which lead to Teaneck's 1990 riots.

Pannell's death loomed over the forum — much like it did at the protests — as a reminder of the chasm between what Teaneck's Black residents believe the Black experience to be in Teaneck, and what township officials have painted it as.

Kirk Mitchell is a Teaneck resident who said he was in middle school when Pannell was shot and killed in 1990. He remembered Gary Spath, the officer who shot Pannell, was not from Teaneck.

Mitchell asked what the place of residence breakdown was among Teaneck officers.

According to Kazinci, the township has a requirement that officers be Teaneck residents in order to be hired onto the police force, but a majority of officers have moved out of Teaneck, which is allowed under department policy.

Currently, about 25 percent of the Teaneck police force are Teaneck residents.

Among the 92 officers currently on the force, 20 are Black, 19 are Latinx and one officer is a Pacific Islander. Eight new hires will come from the next academy class, O'Reilly said, and roughly 75 percent will be from minority groups.

Loretta Weinberg said she was elected to the township council one month after the Pannell shooting. Through that experience she learned that a "diverse community like ours needs constant nurturing," she said.

"Hopefully we don't slip back, and we know the nurturing needs to continue."

Teaneck is also considering an expansion of the Teaneck Community Policing Bureau. At one time it was staffed with seven officers, but is currently only staffed with two officers.

A community review board has also lapsed in staffing, and hasn't met since 2010, according to Kazinci.

Musella said he addressed county police chiefs this morning, and articulated that more community outreach and dialogue were needed. He said O’Reilly was the first chief in the county to host a community forum.

“We have to forge these relationships,” he said, adding that he was proud of the police response to COVID-19 and the George Floyd “tragedy.”

Floyd died in Minneapolis with a white police officer’s knee on his neck in May.

Mayor James Dunleavy said the meeting was “timely” and “important”, stating that he was proud of both the police force and the community, but understood that, given what is happening nationally, this conversation was needed.

Councilwoman Gervonn Rice said she believed the community and police were “in a good place”, but believed these conversations could lead to an even stronger one.

A wide swath of Teaneck officials spoke out in the days after the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, but the community voiced a wide gap between the statements made and the reality of Black life in the township.

With multiple commitments made by Kazinci and other officials to continue hosting discussions like the one today, perhaps Teaneck is beginning to work on closing that gap.

This article originally appeared on the Teaneck Patch