The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the attorney general’s office can continue its takeover of the Paterson Police Department, overturning a lower court judge’s decision.
Attorney General Matt Platkin seized control of the department and reassigned Paterson Police Chief Engelbert Ribeiro to a Trenton training commission assignment in March 2023 after the fatal police shooting of an anti-violence advocate. Ribeiro and Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, as well as other Paterson officials, sued and argued the takeover was illegal.
In Wednesday’s 30-page opinion, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the state Legislature authorized the takeover with two 2023 laws passed to support the attorney general’s office in operating the department. The ruling applies solely to the Paterson case and declined “to reach the question whether the Attorney General has supersession authority” in other circumstances.
“As we have said for years, my office’s supersession of the Paterson Police Department is lawful—and we applaud the New Jersey Supreme Court for unanimously upholding that decision,” Platkin said in a release. “For more than two years now, members of my department have worked side-by-side with the hard-working men and women of the PPD to make Paterson safer for all its residents.”
The shooting of Najee Seabrooks, whose colleagues said he was experiencing a mental health crisis, sparked protests against the department. In March, a grand jury declined to press charges against the two Paterson officers who shot and killed Seabrooks. A state appellate court ruled that Platkin lacked the authority to take over the department in December; the attorney general quickly appealed.
The attorney general’s office has argued the Criminal Justice Act of 1970 gave them the authority to “supersede” a municipal police department, but the court did not rule on that issue.
Sayegh has said the takeover of the PPD violates Paterson’s right to govern itself, and the Paterson plaintiffs argued the Criminal Justice Act does not authorize supersession.
Regardless, Platkin argues the takeover has been a resounding success. He says shootings have dropped more than 50% in the years since the takeover, and argues that community engagement and trust have improved.
“Thanks to the Court’s definitive ruling this morning, that important work will continue undisturbed, ensuring that we can better serve the residents of our State’s third largest city — whose safety has been and will remain my top priority,” Platkin said.