What will state's Police Department takeover mean for Paterson?

PATERSON — In a city numbed by frequent and often unfulfilled promises of law enforcement reforms, many want to hear additional details about the state’s Paterson Police Department takeover plan before they celebrate or condemn the intervention.

Social justice activists, police union officials, community leaders and elected officials all have plenty of questions about New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s announcement on Monday.

Among them are:

• What changes will state control bring to the daily operations of the long-troubled Police Department?

• How much impact will city residents have on the decisions made during state control?

• Will the state spend significant money as part of the Police Department intervention and what exactly will any extra funding be used for?

• How long will the state intervention last?

Platkin on Monday warned against expectations of “overnight” changes.

“Exercising control over the Police Department and bringing in nationally recognized police leadership for the department is the first step of a process toward a safer and more just city of Paterson,” Platkin said.

Countless others have echoed Platkin’s use of the phrase “first step” in describing the attorney general’s intervention in New Jersey’s third-most-populous city. Activists warned they would not be satisfied with baby steps.

“More of the same simply will not cut it,” said Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas. “The takeover of the Paterson Police Department by the Office of the Attorney General does not necessarily indicate a reversal from the standard operating procedures of local law enforcement or its supporters.”

Platkin has not revealed exactly when he decided to take control of the department, but all indications are that his plan came together very recently. For example, the man Platkin picked to be in charge in Paterson, Isa Abbassi, has worked for the New York City Police Department for the past 25 years — notably in a high-profile role after the death of Eric Garner. Officials in Manhattan only announced Abbassi’s retirement on Monday.

“My work here is done, but I will take it with me as I embrace a new opportunity presented to me to help improve the policing profession in our neighboring state of New Jersey,” Abbassi said in an NYPD press release that announced his departure.

Abbassi won’t start his new job in Paterson until May, and during the interim, New Jersey State Police Maj. Fred Fife will be in charge in the city, Platkin said.

A litany of problems stretching over years

The Attorney General’s Office is taking over a department that has been beset with problems for more than five years. Four current and former city police officers face criminal charges involving allegations they used excessive force on citizens. Eight other Paterson cops were convicted of federal crimes between December 2018 and May 2022, including the infamous “robbery squad.”

In addition to those criminal cases, the city Police Department is the target of a host of pending lawsuits and controversies, including:

• The March 3 fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks.

• The February 2022 disappearance of Felix DeJesus.

• The 2019 police-custody death of Jameek Lowery.

• The litigation brought by Ralph Lee Jr. and Eric Kelley, who spent 25 years in prison until their murder convictions were dismissed several years ago.

“I talk with the residents daily about their concerns and lack of trust in the Paterson Police Department,” Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly of Paterson said as he welcomed the attorney general’s intervention. “People want to feel safe in the communities they live in.”

The city’s most prominent real estate developer, Charles Florio, a frequent critic of the Police Department, called the state takeover “the best thing that has happened in a long time.”

Florio said that for many years the city police have failed at curtailing crime.

“The AG is going to restore law and order in Paterson for the many people who want it,” Florio said.

Earlier:NJ AG takes control of daily operations of Paterson Police Department

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

A brief tenure for Ribeiro

The month of March was supposed to mark a new beginning for the Paterson Police Department, with Chief Engelbert Ribeiro taking the oath of office on March 3. Ribeiro was replacing a predecessor, Ibrahim Baycora, who many officials and residents said was an ineffective leader and uninvolved in the city’s police problems.

But Ribeiro’s swearing-in ceremony concluded at virtually the same time that two police officers shot and killed Seabrooks after an almost five-hour standoff, sparking community outrage and protests, culminating in Platkin’s announcement on Monday.

The presidents of Paterson’s police unions, Detective Alex Cruz and Lt. Mason Maher, said they would try to stay “open-minded” to the attorney general’s action and expressed hope that the state intervention will bring better equipment, technology and funding for the department. They said representatives of the Attorney General's Office assured them that the state was simply trying to help Paterson.

But Cruz and Maher said they were worried about the stealthy way the Attorney General's Office handled things on Monday, by simply showing up in Paterson in the morning to announce the takeover without giving anyone at police headquarters advance notice.

“First impressions are important,” Cruz said.

The police union leaders said they were disappointed by the state’s decision to relieve Ribeiro of his command barely three weeks after he took the oath of office. Maher said morale among Paterson cops was on the rise with Ribeiro, who he said is widely respected among the rank and file in the department.

“He was going to do some good things, working with the community and making the department more inclusive,” Maher said of Ribeiro.

Ribeiro remains a member of the Police Department, but the Attorney General's Office has not said exactly what his role will be going forward.

Reaction across New Jersey

Groups outside Paterson said they were encouraged by Platkin’s takeover.

“Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding,” said the Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which two weeks ago called for a federal investigation of the Paterson Police Department. “Given the long history of police violence in Paterson and the lack of state action and prosecution in several instances, we — and other advocates — will be monitoring closely to see how this takeover plays out. We expect the AG will provide implementation details and regular progress reports and involve the community at every step.”

ACLU New Jersey echoed that statement.

“We hope that this process is a collaborative one that will help bring about trust and integrity to the Paterson Police Department, and safety from police violence for the people of Paterson,” said ACLU Executive Director Amol Sinha. "The community deserves nothing less.”

In many ways, the takeover is reminiscent of the state’s intervention in the Camden Police Department about 15 years ago, according to law enforcement experts. Several years later, officials in Camden dissolved the city Police Department and replaced it with a county law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a champion of the city’s police officers who served as Paterson’s mayor in the 1990s, said he believed Platkin did not make his decision “lightly or without vital purpose.”

“This is a sad moment for our community,” Pascrell said, “but it can be a promising moment if from this action the Paterson police and state police, working together with our community, can bolster public confidence and make our streets safer.”

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police: What comes next after takeover?