Credit: (Edwin J. Torres/NJ Governor’s Office; CC BY-NC 2.0)

New Jersey’s takeover of the Paterson Police Department will take at least two years, Attorney General Matt Platkin told lawmakers Monday.

Platkin, testifying before the Assembly Budget Committee, provided the first timeline since his office’s takeover was announced March 27. He did not, however, offer more information on what reforms would take place or how much it would cost. The new Paterson officer-in-charge, Isa Abbassi, started in his position last week.

“We’ll have a strategic plan (that Abbassi will) finalize in the coming weeks,” said Platkin.

He has said previously that his office would be there as long as it takes to help Paterson residents and their police department.

Officer-in-Charge Isa Abbassi started May 9, having just left his role as chief of police and strategy at the New York Police Department. Abbassi was tasked with improving relations between Staten Island communities and law enforcement in the aftermath of Eric Garner’s killing in 2014.

On the heels of a killing

The takeover followed the killing of Najee Seabrooks, who was shot by Paterson police while he was going through a mental health crisis. Seabrooks’ killing renewed questions about notorious police misconduct in the city, which has resulted in previous federal convictions.

An audit of the olice department published early 2022 found that officers used force overwhelmingly against Black and Latino residents. It also found an array of issues within the department, such as a lack both of racial diversity at the supervisor level and functional locker rooms for women-identifying police officers.

“The statistics were very alarming — outside of police conduct, the situation with Najee Seabrooks brought a lot of attention,” Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D- Passaic) said at Monday’s committee hearing.

Back to basics

Platkin said his office retrained Paterson officers on “basics,” such as “constitutional policing with passion” He also said his office has “revamped” how internal affairs are handled (internal affairs manages misconduct and corruption complaints made against officers).

This is the same information he shared with Paterson residents at a community listening session over a week ago, and not many new updates were shared. He didn’t offer more specifics, but reiterated that Abbassi just started last week and a plan is forthcoming.

Platkin, though, acknowledged before lawmakers that it will be a long road to restore trust between Paterson police officers and the community they serve. In some cases, he said, trust would need to be built completely, though he didn’t seem deterred. He said that “trust” and “accountability” for police officers would be key to progress.

“While we have a long way to go, I’m confident in our success,” he said.

Abbassi plans to carry out more listening sessions with Paterson community members in the coming weeks. Residents at the first session on May 4 seemed receptive to the attorney general’s takeover but urged for less of a police-first public safety approach, and more of one that empowers the community itself.