Seabrooks 'didn't die in vain': Healing Collective leader reflects on AG's takeover of PPD

The Paterson Healing Collective has been calling for major police reforms since the death of Najee Seabrooks, a PHC violence intervention specialist who was fatally shot by Paterson police on March 3 after an hours-long standoff after he barricaded himself in an apartment at 20 Mill St. in Paterson. 

I spoke with Liza Chowdhury, project director of the Paterson Healing Collective, a day after the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office seized control of the Paterson Police Department.

Chowdhury spoke about her reaction to the attorney general’s takeover, what she hopes happens next and the impact Seabrooks had while working with PHC.

What follows is an edited version of the interview.

New Jersey attorney general takes over Paterson Police Department

Michael Karas: Can you talk about how you felt when you heard the AG was taking over?

Liza Chowdhury: I'm going to be honest, I cried. ... We've been in go mode since Najee died, and we've been organizing. We've been calling, we've been writing letters, we've been posting. We felt so helpless, right, because nothing's going to bring him back. And it was like when he did this, it was like somebody's listening because we almost felt like we're trapped, right? We're waiting for justice from local leaders that it seemed like they didn't want to investigate the police department. It seemed like they were allowing the culture and climate of this police department to go unchecked.

So when he came [Monday] and ... validated the fact that this police department is ... not doing what it's supposed to do, it was like somebody's listening, and for me, it was like a relief. That Najee's name, he didn't die in vain. ... But for him to respond so swiftly, it just gave us a glimmer of hope. ... So we're not trapped. Somebody's listening from the outside and sees what we're seeing.

Charlie Stile: Platkin on Paterson: 'A major commitment' — and a major new test for NJ's AG

What comes next?

MK: Can you talk about what you hope is going to happen next?

LC: ... I think that this can be [Platkin's] legacy, right? Because it took a lot of courage to say, "You know what? I'm going to listen to the community. I heard the cries for help. I heard that they want us to immediately take over, and I'm going to go ahead and give the community what they need."

And some of the things that I appreciate about some of the things that he said was to validate the work that we do, to make sure that there are policy changes. To make sure that the police department is restructured and reformed. That there's a precedence on the fact that the community should feel safe with the law enforcement that's there to protect and serve.

So my hope is that he lives by that and that he's patient with the community. That he listens to the community that he's in, involves groups like ours, Black Lives Matter, youth that live in areas that are highly policed and have been abused at times. I hope that he listens to our voices ... It's good to bring in experts, but the real experts are those that live in this neighborhood every day and can tell you what they need.

Earlier: Paterson says goodbye to Najee Seabrooks, activist killed in police shooting

Najee Seabrooks: What the Paterson Healing Collective's director said in his memory

The Paterson Healing Collective's relationship with Paterson police

MK: OK. Can you talk about what PHC's working relationship was like with Paterson PD? And what do you think it means now that the AG is in charge?

LC: ... Since we launched the hospital-based violence intervention program, I think that the police didn't understand our role. On March 3, I think that that was the climactic scene of they really don't respect us or understand our role.

Since we launched the hospital-based violence intervention program, we saw some practices that were not adhering to the civil rights of patients and victims of violence.

... We've had to do a lot of education for ourselves and also educating people in the community about victims of violence. That they're not gang members, they're not serial killers, they're not bad people — they're victims. ...

So since then, the hospital has been very supportive. They've changed some policies and procedures ... as far as interactions with law enforcement, as a result. And I think that's because we were raising awareness. Anytime there's a change in a culture, it's uncomfortable. ...

... We can be a complementary strategy to public safety. ... Police can do what the police do, but we have a different way of addressing violence, which is looking at it from a public health standpoint. And I don't think that that was understood fully by them.

What was Najee Seabrooks' impact?

MK: For people who didn't know Najee, can you just talk about who he was and what he was like?

LC: So, Najee was full of spirit. He had a great spirit. He always believed in good energy, good vibes. He's very laid back. He wanted to give back to his community. Early on, he always had that epiphany of that he wants to mentor others. Just to give you an example of how dedicated he was: If he knew neighborhood kids that were in basketball or into the sports, he would take them for extra practice, make sure that [they show] for games. If he sees them walking home, he would drop them off to make sure that they got home safe. That's just how dedicated he was for his community. He really wanted the 4th Ward to become better, and he always would push me to make sure that we had events in the 4th Ward so that the kids had a safe space to be at.

MK: Can you talk about what was his impact while he was working with PHC?

LC: When we work with survivors of violence, not everybody knows us. So because of his credibility in his community, say if we weren't able to reach them at the hospital, he would get them in the community. So because they already trusted him, they knew what he was about, they knew that Najee was somebody that was credible and trustworthy. So that kind of helped us to have that. He was our liaison in the 4th Ward to make sure that we get survivors into the office.

Subscriber exclusive: Najee Seabrooks in his own words: 'Try to bring back some love' to Paterson

What happened on March 3?

MK: For people who don't know what happened, can you talk about your interactions with police and Paterson Healing Collective's interactions with police on the day he was killed?

LC: So on that day, on March 3, our team, several members of our team, received phone calls from Najee, text messages, asking for us to come by his address, begging us for help and saying that he needed us in our group chat. This has already been made public that he asked, "Hey, where's my PHC family here? I need your help. I want to hear your voices. I want to see your faces." Our team, about eight of them, were already out there in the morning as early as 9 a.m. in the morning, and we were begging the police. I wasn't there, but eight of my team members were. And these are all people that do crisis response. Two of the people that were there just recently trained the Public Safety Academy police in crisis intervention training. So these are people that are experts in this, right?

And when they arrived at the scene, they showed their credentials ... We were sending him text messages of our faces in the hallway to show, hey, we're here, the police are not letting us in. So that whole time of four hours, our team was pleading with the police, can you please let us talk to Najee? We can help. We could be of assistance. He's asking for our help. Here's the proof. So for us, it was very frustrating. And then after four hours of pleading with them trying to figure out what's happening with Najee, they heard the gunshots, right?

So they have to live with that memory. The fact that they were there, they felt helpless, they were trying to help him. These are people that have helped over 250 people in the community since we launched. And despite all this, the fact that they were declined from helping somebody that we love and care for and that asked for our help, you have to understand how disheartening, disappointing, how traumatic that is. ...

Mike Kelly: These tactics might have prevented Najee Seabrooks' death

How should police respond?

MK: What should a response be when someone's having a mental health crisis; what should that response be like?

LC: There should be a 911 dispatch call that should be made out to a program ... where this is a civilian unarmed crisis intervention team that is trained in mental health responses, patient, community-led, that looks like the community, that understands this community. One of those teams was us. We were out there, right? We deal with crisis. ... And we're a gun violence intervention program. ... And I think that that's what should have been the response. And we were there to provide that response for Najee, but we weren't given the opportunity to help him.

Michael Karas is a visual journalist for NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey.

Email: karasm@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson Healing Collective: Hope for reform with AG takeover of police