Newark PD Placed Under Federal Oversight Due to Excessive Force, Civil Rights Violations

The Newark Police Department, the largest police force in New Jersey, is being placed under federal oversight in response to a three-year investigation which uncovered unconstitutional practices that amounted to violations of citizens’ civil rights. The Department was found to have conducted thousands of pedestrian stops, of which 75% were unconstitutional because they lacked the required probable cause or articulable, individualized suspicion required by the Constitution. Racial profiling was also found, as it was discovered that blacks were also disproportionately targeted for stops and arrests. African-Americans make up 54% of the city’s population yet accounted for 85% of stops and 79% of arrests.

The investigation also revealed excessive force complaints lodged against 20% of the city’s police officers. Of these complaints, only two percent resulted in any disciplinary action or criminal charges being filed against the officers. Nationally, such complaints result in discipline in about nine percent of cases on average, leading to the conclusion that the Newark PD is doing an inadequate job of policing itself. Hence the implementation of an independent federal court monitor through the U.S. Department of Justice.

The decree will likely be in place for years and maybe for a decade or more as the city works to implement system-wide changes in the operation of the police department.