Civil Rights Probe: Newark, Feds Reach Settlement

Newark, NJ – If you're black and live in Newark, you're more than twice as likely to be stopped by police while walking in the city.

And that's one reason why changes need to be made, authorities say.

On Wednesday, federal authorities and the City of Newark announced that they have reached a tentative settlement involving longstanding allegations that the Newark Police Department has “eroded public confidence” by unconstitutionally harassing its minority residents, particularly African-Americans.

The settlement will bring “wide-ranging reforms and changes to the Newark Police Department,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to the U.S Justice Department, the agreement - which is subject to court approval - resolves the agency’s findings that the NPD engaged in a pattern of “unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests, use of excessive force and theft by officers” in violation of the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments.

The proposed consent decree also resolves the department’s findings that NPD’s law enforcement practices had a “disparate impact on minorities” in Newark, prosecutors stated.

The Justice Department’s findings were announced in July of 2014 following a three-year investigation.

The probe found that 85 percent of pedestrian stops involved blacks, who only constitute about 54 percent of Newark's population, Reuters reported.

In addition, federal investigators found that 75 percent of NPD pedestrian stop reports from officers “failed to articulate sufficient legal basis for those stops.”

“For example, the investigation revealed that NPD made thousands of stops of individuals described by officers merely as being present in a high crime area or milling, loitering or wandering, without any indication of reasonable suspicion of criminal activity,” federal authorities asserted.

“[African-Americans] in Newark have borne the brunt of NPD’s pattern of unconstitutional stops and arrests,” federal investigators continued. “[Blacks] in Newark have been at least 2.5 times more likely to have been subjected to a pedestrian stop or arrested than [whites].”

• See related article: Newark's Citizen Review Board: How Will It Make For Better Policing?

SETTLEMENT TERMS

Newark and the Department of Justice have jointly proposed that former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey lead a team that will monitor the city’s compliance with the agreement.

Under the consent decree, the city of Newark and NPD will implement reforms in 12 areas:

• The NPD will improve officer training to ensure that officers develop the necessary technical and practical skills required to carry out NPD directives consistently.
• The NPD will revise search and seizure policies, training and supervision to ensure that all stops, searches and arrests are conducted in accordance with the Constitution and in a manner that takes into account community priorities.
• The NPD will integrate bias-free policing principles into all levels of the organization, including comprehensive training of officers and supervisors.
• The NPD will reform use of force policies, including requirements for using de-escalation techniques whenever possible and appropriate, prohibiting retaliatory force and ensuring mandatory reporting and investigation standards following use of force.
• The NPD will deploy in-car and body-worn cameras to promote accountability, instill community confidence and improve law enforcement records.
• The NPD will implement measures to prevent theft of property by officers, including robust reporting and complete accounting of property or evidenced seized.
• Office of Professional Standards investigators will be appropriately qualified and trained. Investigations of civilian complaints will be conducted in an objective, thorough and timely manner.
• Newark will create a civilian oversight entity to give voice to and pursue concerns of its residents.
• The NPD will develop protocols for conducting compliance reviews and integrity audits.
• The NPD will implement steps to ensure that the disciplinary process is fair and consistent.
• The NPD will improve records management and early intervention systems and collect data on all uses of force and investigatory stops, searches and arrests, and develop a protocol for the comprehensive analysis of the data. The information will be publicly reported.
• The NPD will strengthen its public information programs to ensure that members of the public are informed of NPD’s progress toward reform.

Sign up for Patch NJ email newsletters here.

Photo: Downtown Newark protest and rally, 2012