Bloomfield Cops' Use Of Force Is On The Rise: Study

Bloomfield, NJ – Use of force among Bloomfield police officers almost doubled from 2014 to 2015, according to a recent report.

The Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey (LLANJ) released a study on May 31 that alleges use of force reports filed by Bloomfield police officers increased 87 percent between 2014 and 2015, from 32 incidents to 60.

The increase is “off the charts,” Richard Rivera, a former Hudson County police officer and LLANJ board member told NBC New York.

In addition to the rise in total use of force reports, 18 of 23 people subjected to police use of force in the first four months of 2016 were African-American, the LLANJ alleged.

Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio acknowledged the numbers, but denied there is a problem, NBC reported.

“The number is only up because the number of arrests [over that period] have nearly doubled,” DeMaio told NBC.

The LLANJ’s claims come only two months after a group of Seton Hall law students released a study that alleged the Bloomfield Police Department may be “targeting” minority drivers for traffic enforcement efforts.

• See related article: Are Blacks, Latinos Pulled Over More In Bloomfield? Police Deny Study’s Claims

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File Photo: Enzo DiCostanzo