Paterson ministers: Where are Mayor Sayegh and the City Council on Najee Seabrooks?

Editor's note: This letter was written by Paterson faith leaders affiliated with Faith in Passaic County, a local chapter of Faith in New Jersey, and sent to Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and members of the Paterson City Council on Monday, March 27.

Mayor Andre Sayegh and the Paterson City Council:

The Paterson clergy community has been devastated by the loss of Najee Seabrooks, an important community leader with the Paterson Healing Collective in the effort to reduce gun violence in our neighborhoods and provide the necessary healing in our streets. We reviewed the video, released by the attorney general's office, of the Paterson Police Department killing Seabrooks. The use of force and escalation was unnecessary; there could have been multiple measures taken by police officers to save the life of Seabrooks. No member of our community should die simply because they are going through a mental health crisis.

Each of you were elected by our community to ensure the Paterson government protects our constitutional rights, improves the quality of lives and supports our human agency and dignity. Your silence in the midst of Seabrooks’ killing is disturbing and further creates division in a community that has a history of rightfully distrusting law enforcement and feeling our elected officials prioritize their own interests over the interest of the people. As faith leaders, we are called to stand against injustice and be a prophetic voice to remind our public officials that they work for the community and have a responsibility to hear the cries of the people, especially the Seabrooks family.

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We want your top priority to be the safety and care of the Paterson community, and that is why we are in solidarity with the Seabrooks family's demands for the establishment of a community-based non-carceral crisis response team staffed by unarmed civilians. We demand the establishment of a community civilian review board with disciplinary authority and call for the termination of all actors responsible for the careless killing of Seabrooks. By taking action to advance these issues, you show the Paterson community you care about reducing violence and prioritizing the voices of our community demanding justice for Najee. It is important our community no longer feels neglected by your leadership.

In the following days, we will be reaching out to schedule a meeting to follow up on the demands of the Seabrooks family. As faith leaders in the Paterson community, it is our top priority to ensure that all of God’s people are cared for, treated with dignity, and able to thrive.

Sincerely,

Rev. Della Capers, Victory Temple 

Rev. Dr. Sean C. Evans, Sr., Second Baptist Church

Apostle Keith Carey, Deliverance Holy Tabernacle

Rev. Dr. Weldon McWilliams IV, Christ Temple Baptist Church

Elder Corey Teague, New Generation Healing & Deliverance Tabernacle Ministries

Rev. Beverly Pearson, Second Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. William Henry, Everlasting Life Foundation Ministry

Rev. Milena Eason, Grace of God Church   

Rev. Dr. Thomas Patrick Farrar, Gilmore Tabernacle Look & Live Ministry

Rev. Anthony Capers, Victory Temple

Rev. Kevin Greenwood, Morning Star Baptist Church 

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ Najee Seabrooks: Ministers seek leadership