Teaneck Police To Host Police Relations Forum

TEANECK, NJ — The Teaneck Police Department will host a community forum on Thursday at 1 p.m., allowing space for community members to discuss, with law enforcement, their feelings related to the police department.

A "joint venture" between law enforcement and members of the community, according to a release from the town, was organized to "create important dialogue between residents and law enforcement.

Present at the meeting, which will be held virtually over Zoom, will be a representative from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, Teaneck Police Chief Glenn O'Reily, members of the Township Council, Township Manager Dean Kazinci, Teaneck Municipal Court Judge Erika Jungblut, and members of Clergy.

This meeting follows a protest earlier this month in Teaneck, in which members of the Teaneck community, and the family of Phillip Pannell spoke out about policing in the community.

Pannell, a Black 16-year-old, was shot by white officer Gary Spath in 1990, which lead to Teaneck's 1990 riots.

A wide swath of Teaneck officials spoke out in the days after the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, but the community voiced a wide gap between the statements made and the reality of Black life in the township.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 2. Questions may be submitted in advance by emailing TPDForum@teanecknj.gov.

The Zoom meeting ID is 997 5452 9769, and the password is 286020.