The New Jersey Supreme Court today ruled that Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s supersession of the Paterson Police Department’s operations in March 2023 was lawful, reversing the Appellate Division’s previous decision.
Alongside partners, the ACLU of New Jersey had filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that the power of supersession over police departments is within the Attorney General’s jurisdiction as the chief law enforcement officer of the state, and a necessary tool to promote accountability and to stop abuse of vulnerable communities by police.
In response to the decision, the following groups issued statements:
“We are pleased the Court recognized the Attorney General’s authority to take over the Paterson Police Department,” said ACLU-NJ Director of Appellate Advocacy Ezra Rosenberg. “Supersession of city police departments by the attorney general has long been a critical means of stopping egregious abuses by police departments, which have historically and disproportionately affected Black and brown communities. This decision upholds a necessary tool to protect Paterson and all New Jersey community members from police violence and misconduct. We now call on the legislature to pass a law expressly ratifying that the attorney general has the inherent power to supersede municipal police departments to provide oversight and combat systemic failures.”
“Today’s decision was a win for Paterson. The people of Paterson, especially its Black and Brown residents, deserve a police force that serves and protects them – not one that harms them. Now with its authority in Paterson made clear by the Court, the Attorney General’s office has the opportunity to create that kind of police force and rebuild public trust, and we should hold them accountable for doing so,” said Henal Patel, Law & Policy Director for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “We now urge the legislature to codify the Attorney General’s power of supersession over municipal police departments expressly into law – including with public participation in the process – to allow for necessary oversight when other police departments fail their residents.”
“We support the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Attorney General's supersession of the Paterson Police Department,” said Liza Chowdhury, Executive Director of Reimagining Justice, Inc. “Reimagining Justice Inc. was part of the amicus brief because it is essential for communities to have mechanisms in place to hold police departments accountable, especially when public trust is eroded, as it has been in Paterson. We will continue to support the efforts of the Attorney General's office, Paterson City officials, and the Paterson Police Department to address the concerns and needs of the community members we service effectively."
"The League of Women Voters of New Jersey welcomes the Court's decision allowing for the Attorney General's supersession to remain in place," said Jesse Burns, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. "Paterson's pervasive and systemic failures in policing have brought great harm to its residents and require external intervention. This decision is a first step and more remains to restore public trust, demand accountability, and advance meaningful policing reform."
