Civil rights, community organizations and Newarkers to make final push for ordinance to hold police accountable to the public

NEWARK – Community members and civil rights activists will converge on the steps of Newark City Hall at 6 p.m. and in chambers on March 16 for the Municipal Council’s 6:30 p.m. historic final hearing and vote on an ordinance creating a civilian complaint review board to hold police accountable.

Newark Communities for Accountable Policing (N-CAP), a diverse coalition of advocates for police reform, has pushed for a strong, independent civilian board to review police misconduct complaints, carrying on a cause that has been 50 years in the making. Newark’s board would be one of the strongest in the country and the first in New Jersey.

WHAT:        Hearing and final Newark Municipal Council vote on an ordinance to create a strong, independent civilian complaint review board to hold the Newark Police accountable
WHEN:   Wednesday, March 16; advocates gather at 6 p.m., hearing begins at 6:30
WHERE:   City Hall Municipal Council Chamber
920 Broad Street
Newark
WHO:   • Members of the Newark Municipal Council
• Newark Communities for Accountable Policing
• Newark community members testifying about the need for police oversight

N-CAP and the members of its steering committee — 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East, ACLU-NJ, Garden State Equality, Ironbound Community Corporation, NAACP-New Jersey State Conference, NAACP Newark Branch, New Jersey Communities United, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, and People’s Organization for Progress — have called on the Newark Municipal Council to create a permanent police review board that has subpoena power, disciplinary authority and a lasting presence beyond any one mayoral administration.