The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey have announced findings that the Trenton Police Department (TPD) and the City of Trenton, New Jersey, are involved in practices that violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Both entities have agreed to work with federal authorities to implement recommended reforms.
The investigation revealed that TPD officers frequently used excessive force, such as physical force and pepper spray, even when there was no significant resistance or threat present. Additionally, officers conducted stops, searches, and arrests without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Deficiencies in training, supervision, policy, and accountability were also identified as contributing factors to these violations.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated: “Police officers must respect people’s civil and constitutional rights and treat people with dignity.” She added that after an extensive review, it was found that TPD routinely violated residents' Fourth Amendment rights by conducting illegal stops and using unjustified force. Clarke emphasized the importance of collaboration among city officials, police departments, and communities to achieve meaningful reforms.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey highlighted the impact on community trust: “For too long, the residents of Trenton have felt afraid of the police rather than protected by them.” He noted that unconstitutional actions by TPD have damaged public trust and safety but expressed hope for future reforms to rebuild this trust.
The investigation uncovered specific incidents where TPD officers escalated encounters unnecessarily. One example from 2023 involved an officer who stomped on a man's hand after he was already subdued on the ground.
Since 2021, these practices have led to over $7 million in costs for resolving lawsuits related to officer misconduct allegations against TPD.
Initiated on October 17, 2023, this investigation involved a detailed examination of TPD records including police reports and body camera footage. Investigators also engaged with city officials, police leadership, line officers through ride-alongs as well as community members.
Both the city and TPD cooperated fully during this process. The Justice Department provided a detailed report outlining its findings along with necessary remedial measures while acknowledging some changes already made by local authorities.
This investigation falls under 34 U.S.C §12601 which prohibits law enforcement from engaging in patterns depriving individuals' constitutional rights; it authorizes legal action seeking court-ordered remedies against unlawful conduct patterns.
Further outreach will be conducted within Trenton communities for feedback regarding these findings via email at USANJ.Community.Trenton@usdoj.gov or phone at 973-645-2801.
More information is available online about various aspects related to civil rights enforcement both generally through www.justice.gov/crt and specifically concerning police reform work at www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download among other resources offered by respective government offices mentioned earlier.
A Spanish translation will be provided soon for non-English speaking residents needing accessibly formatted content addressing relevant issues discussed hereinabove involving ongoing reformative efforts aimed toward restoring equitable justice practices locally within affected jurisdictions like those currently undergoing scrutiny amid broader national dialogues around policing standards nationwide today accordingly moving forward collaboratively together constructively now more than ever before perhaps optimistically speaking hopefully anyhow all things considered realistically practically feasibly ideally sooner rather than later ideally hypothetically potentially ultimately maybe eventually plausibly certainly finally eventually someday hopefully...
