Court Rules N.J. Attorney General Overstepped in Police Force Takeover

New Jersey’s attorney general exceeded his authority when he took operational control of the Paterson Police Department in March 2023 and local management of the 300-plus officer department in the state’s third largest city must be restored, an appeals court ruled Wednesday in a surprise decision.

The city’s mayor and sidelined police leadership filed a lawsuit challenging state Attorney General Matt Platkin’s authority to take over the scandal-plagued city police department.

“This is a victory for democracy. What Matt Platkin did was unlawful and undemocratic,” Mayor André Sayegh said Wednesday. “He disenfranchised Paterson voters to advance his own electoral ambitions.”

Platkin’s office issued a statement vowing an immediate appeal to the state Supreme Court. An emergency appeal was filed shortly after the statement was made, Platkin’s representatives said.

“We are deeply disappointed with today’s ruling — which comes nearly two years after the state took over the Paterson Police Department, having now spent millions of dollars to improve conditions in the city — and will be appealing immediately to the New Jersey Supreme Court,” Platkin said in the statement.

“The decision does not take effect immediately, and we will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to protect all the progress we have made to date,” Pltkin said.

The appeals court ruling includes a three-day stay for an application to the Supreme Court, which would extend the stay indefinitely until the case is resolved.

The litany of problems cited by Platkin at the time of the March 2023 takeover included criminal charges against a dozen officers, millions in legal settlements and fierce criticism of police use of force.

The mayor was joined in the lawsuit opposing the takeover by acting Public Safety Director Mirza M. Bulur and police Chief Engelbert Ribeiro. Both were pushed aside by an officer-in-charge appointed by Platkin.

“This ruling reaffirms our city’s authority to manage its own police department and sets up a precedent for all municipalities across New Jersey that the responsibility of the police department rests on the local officials elected by the people,” Sayegh said in a statement.

Sayegh called Platkin “a rogue Attorney General” who was “persecuting” the city for political gain.

Platkin touted the progress in the city’s law enforcement under the reforms enacted since the takeover.

“Since then, murders, shootings, sexual assaults, robberies, and other violent crime in Paterson have all plummeted, while officer morale and community trust have dramatically improved,” Platkin said in his statement. “We are enormously proud of the extraordinary progress the Paterson Police Department has made and we remain deeply committed to Paterson and to the crucial work of making the City safer for all its people, including as this wrongful decision is appealed.”

When Platkin assumed control of the Paterson Police Department, following an police shooting, he cited concerns over leadership, fiscal management, and public safety.

City officials argued the takeover violated the New Jersey Constitution, the Home Rule Act, and statutes governing municipal oversight of police departments.

The court agreed, finding that the state’s Criminal Justice Act of 1970 and related laws did not give the Attorney General the authority to unilaterally supersede municipal police operations.

The judges ordered Ribeiro to be reinstated as police chief.

While reversing the state’s takeover of day-to-day police operations, the court left intact the separate, consensual supersession of the department’s Internal Affairs Unit by the Attorney General and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.

The court also mandated that the attorney general provide a detailed report on actions and expenditures during the supersession.

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