Protesters Rallying In Newark After NJ Supreme Court Decision

NEWARK, NJ — Activists are planning to hold a protest in Newark on Thursday, a day after the New Jersey Supreme Court limited the powers of a citizen board tasked with probing alleged police abuse.

In a highly anticipated decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Newark's Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) doesn't have the power to issue subpoenas as it probes accusations of abuse.

The board also doesn't have the ability to conduct investigations if the Newark Police Department is carrying out its own internal affairs probe, the court ruled.

Newark's CCRB was created in 2016 as part of a landmark consent decree between the U.S Justice Department and the city. Prior to the agreement, a three-year federal probe found that Newark police officers were stopping, arresting and using force on minorities at a much higher rate than white people.

• See related article: NJ Supreme Court Limits Newark's Power To Probe Police Abuse

James Stewart Jr., president of Newark Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 12, told NJ.com that the ruling upheld the union’s belief that some of the board’s powers aren’t legal.

“The Newark Police Department has improved greatly over the last several years,” Stewart told NJ.com, adding that officers “look forward to bettering our relationship with the community to bring about true change in Newark.”

• See related article: Newark Will Disclose Identity Of Cops After 'Serious' Violations
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But according to the People’s Organization for Progress (POP), the advocacy group that recently spearheaded a massive George Floyd protest in Newark, Wednesday’s ruling is a roadblock to serious police reform in a city that desperately needs it.

“We need legislators with the courage to stand up to police organizations who oppose civilian oversight to sponsor bills that will enable municipalities to establish review boards with subpoena and investigatory powers,” POP founder Lawrence Hamm said.

“However, more than action by the courts and the legislature, we need action by the people,” Hamm added.

The group is planning to hold a rally to protest the court’s decision on Thursday. It will take place at Newark City Hall, 920 Broad Street at 1 p.m. Everyone who plans to participate is asked to wear a face mask and will also be asked to practice social distancing at the event.

Activists have found an ally in Mayor Ras Baraka, who they said is expected to attend Thursday’s rally.

On Wednesday, Baraka said he was “extremely disappointed” in the court’s decision, which “severely restricts” the board.

“At this time in our nation's history where the world watched the barbarism of Officer Chauvin as he murdered George Floyd with a knee on his neck, the New Jersey Supreme Court's action is out of step with national sentiment, and failed to remove the knee off the necks of many of us in New Jersey,” Baraka said.

The mayor called the court’s ruling a “shocking blow to basic humanity.”

He stated:

“Our humanity has always been in question (see Dred Scott v Sandford 1857). Police are created to protect people and property. We never were considered people and once we were no longer property, we seemed to have lost all protections. So we are back to the question, do our lives matter, and it seems that in New Jersey it's still a debate.”

Baraka continued:

“What we are asking for is the community's right to know how our police are being policed. To have the necessary and complete investigative power, we needed our CCRB to have subpoena power in two areas. First, we needed to be able to get police Internal Affairs documents relative to a citizen complaint of police misconduct or brutality. Second, we needed the ability to call police before the CCRB for testimony. Only with these powers can we assure our community of complete transparency and accountability in the investigations of police abuse. The court's ruling has denied us that opportunity. We will not allow today's judgment to go unchallenged but rather we must dare and demand that our leadership has the courage in this precarious moment to do what is right and break the holds of inequity and systemic inequality. We are now calling on the State Legislature to create laws that give all New Jersey municipalities the subpoena power we sought, and for Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, as the state's top law enforcer, to create such policies that give us those rights.”

“We have come too far in this battle for the public's rightful access to police information to give up, and we will appeal this decision to the federal courts,” Baraka concluded. “We will not stop the fight for our collective justice.”

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