Suspension Of Classes At Bergen County Police Academy Is Lifted As Probe Continues

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — As the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office investigates a police academy that trains officers in North Jersey, the county executive's office said a suspension of classes that began recently will be lifted for now — as his office assumes "responsibility" for the academy.

Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III said Thursday, "Earlier this week the NJ Police Training Commission (PTC) lifted the certification suspension of the Bergen County Police Academy. The County of Bergen will work with the PTC to satisfy the remaining requirements to allow for the resumption of classes at the Bergen County Police Academy"

He noted, "I will assume full operational responsibility of the Bergen County Police Academy with direct civilian oversight under the Academy’s Transitional Director, Deputy County Administrator Kenneth Ehrenberg, Esq."

It was revealed the first week in January that the police academy, based in Mahwah, was under an investigation, but officials have not released the reason.

They have, however, said that the probe was not connected to a controversy over the language used at a police training in Atlantic City in 2021.

The county executive's office said that "Ehrenberg's fulltime responsibility will be the oversight of the Bergen County Police Academy, effective immediately. I want to thank the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office for their partnership throughout this process and I look forward to working closely together to ensure that Bergen County Police Academy provides the highest quality training to keep our residents safe."

He added, "I also would like to thank the Police Training Commission for taking this recent action and for their ongoing collaboration."

A spokesperson for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said earlier this month, "In the course of the most recent police recruit class, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was notified by the Police Training Commission that they had received information regarding alleged rule violations occurring at the Bergen County Police Academy."

Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Rebein explained earlier this month, "The Academy is a unit of the County of Bergen’s Law and Public Safety Institute and operates as a partnership between the County of Bergen, the BCPO, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. The BCPO is responsible for all law enforcement training occurring at the Academy, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our police recruits receive the highest quality training."

She said, "We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, and we immediately began an investigation into those allegations. We have been working collaboratively with the PTC, the County of Bergen, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association to ensure that the Academy provides all police cadets with the highest
standards of professional training possible.

"We are committed to implementing all reforms recommended by the PTC. We are confident that in cooperation with the PTC, the Bergen County Police Academy will be authorized to continue police recruit training in the future."

The prosecutor's office did not release further details on the investigation.