The New Jersey attorney general’s office will continue to run the Paterson Police Department after the state Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously rejected arguments from city leaders that the state takeover was illegal.
Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office assumed control of the department in 2023, following several deadly police shootings — including that of Najee Seabrooks — and other criminal charges against officers. The office has touted dropping crime rates as a sign its leadership is working, and says that community trust in Paterson’s police is being restored.
But Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and local leaders, who were critical of the takeover from the start, sued to regain control of the police department. A state appeals court sided with the city in December, ordering the department be returned to local control. That order was put on hold while the Supreme Court weighed the case. Wednesday’s ruling reversed the appeals court decision, leaving the attorney general’s office in charge.
Platkin praised the decision and said the takeover will end when his 55-point strategic plan for the police department is achieved.
“Today isn’t about wins and losses,” Platkin said at a news conference in Paterson following the decision. “Yes, it ends a multi-year distraction that we have dealt with. But it means, most importantly, that the work that’s been done by the women and men of this department, work that has been done including leadership from the community of Paterson, can continue.”
The justices did not rule on whether the attorney general has authority to conduct future takeovers in other towns. The court instead said that issue should be taken up by the Legislature.
“This is a tale of two decisions,” Sayegh said in a statement. “The State Appellate Court unanimously ruled that the Attorney General does not have the authority to take over our police department, and the State Supreme Court did not find that he has that authority either. The Supreme Court’s decision held that the legislature implicitly authorized this unlawful activity many months later. These decisions serve as an important check on an Attorney General’s so that going forward, no municipality is subjected to an illegal takeover of their police department. Once again, the Supreme Court did not rule that he has the authority to supersede.”
