Paterson’s new police chief: ‘We need to earn that trust’ with community
PATERSON — Promising to build trust between cops and the community, Paterson Police Chief Engelbert Ribeiro took the oath of office on Friday to the applause of almost 100 uniformed officers who attended the ceremony.
“Trust doesn’t happen overnight, we need to earn that trust,” Ribeiro told the audience at Paterson’s International High School auditorium in a speech during which his voice often cracked with emotion.
“Treat everyone like you want to be treated,” added Ribeiro, 50, who joined the Paterson police department in 1996. “It sounds so simple, but it’s not being practiced as much as it should be.”
Ribeiro — who has worked in the patrol, major crimes and narcotics divisions — had been acting chief since September, taking over the leadership of the police department after a turbulent three years when the city endured record numbers of homicides and shootings.
Ribeiro’s predecessor, Ibrahim Baycora, had come under fire from elected officials and community leaders for what they described as his “no-show” management style. Eventually, Mayor Andre Sayegh acknowledged he made a bad decision in picking Baycora by moving to terminate him, and the former chief eventually resigned as part of a lawsuit settlement.
“I trust our new chief because he’s been tested,” Sayegh said of Ribeiro’s experience.
Ribeiro also has the backing of one of Paterson’s most outspoken activists, Ernest Rucker, who has been a longtime critic of Sayegh and the city’s police department.
“I really believe with this chief we have a chance to start the process of culture change [in the police department],” said Rucker, as he sat in the audience on Friday. “That can only happen with a true partnership with the community, and I think this man is the right chief for that job.”
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Ribeiro received a police motorcycle escort from headquarters to the high school, where scores of cops in uniform awaited him. Even retired officers attended the event.
Ribeiro spent 17 years on the executive board of the Paterson Superior Officers Association and the president of that group, Mason Maher, said the large turnout by rank-and-file officers reflected city cops’ confidence in their new chief.
“Now we have a chief who is going to take us in the right direction,” Maher said. “We have a chief who cares about the city and its people.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. noted that Ribeiro was part of the last class of new Paterson police recruits before he left the mayor’s job for Congress.
“We’re expecting a lot from you, and you know that,” Pascrell told the new chief during the ceremony.
Ribeiro paused several times during his speech, as he became emotional.
“I don’t look to be in the spotlight,” Ribeiro said. “But I can assure I will work hard every day to make this city safe.”
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ new police chief Engelbert Ribeiro talks trust
