No ‘Major Discipline’ Reported For Nutley Police In 2021

NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley Police Department didn’t see any major discipline cases in 2021, according to a state report.

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office recently released its second-ever Major Discipline Report, which lists details for hundreds of police officers in the state. This year’s report covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

According to the attorney general’s office, “major discipline” is defined as terminations, reductions in rank, or suspension of more than five days.

The attorney general’s office adds:

“Agencies report officers serving major discipline only once the discipline is final. The road to a determination of final discipline may include many appeals. Thus, officers suspended in 2021 for whom the discipline determination is not final will not appear on this form. Similarly, officers with discipline initiated in a prior year, but finalized in 2021, will appear in this report.”

Other police departments in Essex County that didn’t see any major discipline cases last year include Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex County College, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, New Jersey Institute of Technology, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona and West Orange.

History of 'Major Discipline' Information

In June, then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal gave all New Jersey law-enforcement agencies two months to publicly release certain disciplinary info. The directive came after the New Jersey Supreme Court authorized the public release of such info on a going-forward basis.

Before the New Jersey Supreme Court decision, the Garden State shielded the identities of officers disciplined or fired from the public. But days after then-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in May 2020, Grewal issued several directives involving police reform.

Actions included expansion of Crisis Intervention Team training, development of a statewide "Use of Force Portal" and updates to the state's use-of-force policy. New Jersey law enforcement is now banned from using chokeholds "except in the very limited situations when deadly force is necessary to address an imminent threat to life."

But Grewal's order to release disciplinary records faced pushback, which turned into a year-long legal battle. The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling found state authorities could identify officers subjected to "major" discipline in the past year and going forward. But police disciplined prior can seek a judge to try and block the public disclosure.

In June, State PBA President Pat Colligan called the Supreme Court's decision "frustrating and disappointing." But Colligan praised a provision that allows officers who agreed to discipline under the assumption that it would remain confidential, to seek a judge's approval to keep the records secret.

"We are pleased that the court recognized that many officers only resolved disciplinary actions because they received specific promises of confidentiality which they relied upon, and that they are entitled to a hearing before release of any information regarding events that may have occurred decades ago," Colligan said. "We continue to be disappointed in the Attorney General's (then Grewal) ongoing refusal to meet with us to discuss fairness within police reform as well as his continuing attacks on law enforcement."

This article contains reporting by Josh Bakan, Patch staff

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