United States Ministry of Justice (DOJ) accused police in Trenton, New Jersey, of misconduct in a new report released this week.

The findings detail incidents of arrests made without legal justification, officers escalating aggressive behavior and the unwarranted use of pepper spray.

The DOJ report

The findings, detailed in a 45-page report, follow a year-long investigation into the Trenton Police Department. The investigation began after a police officer shot and paralyzed a young black man who was trying to flee when the police did not explain the reason for his arrest.

The Justice Department concluded that the Trenton Police Department’s practices violated the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. The report presents more than two dozen recommendations for corrective action.

New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said, “The people of Trenton deserve nothing less than fair and constitutional policing. »

“When police arrest someone in Trenton, our investigation found that too often they violate the constitutional rights of those they arrest, sometimes with tragic consequences,” Sellinger added.

The Justice Department report offers a scathing critique of the Trenton police force, a department of about 260 officers serving a city of nearly 90,000 people. Trenton, facing high levels of poverty and crime, faces unique financial challenges in funding public safety due to a reduced property tax base, largely caused by the predominance of state government buildings.

Incidents cited in the report

The report highlights an incident involving a Trenton police officer in the violent crimes unit who chased a 16-year-old boy matching the description of a suspect armed with a gun. The police officer allegedly grabbed the teenager by the neck, threw him against the hood of a car and shouted insults at him. The boy was unarmed. According to the report, a teacher who witnessed the confrontation told the officer that the boy ran away out of fear of police. In response, the officer claimed that the police were there to help.

“That’s not how a black man sees things,” the teacher said, according to the report.

In response, a Trenton police officer reportedly said, “That’s the way an intelligent man would see things.” »

In 2022, a Black woman sitting in her car parked on a Trenton street was approached by a friend who retrieved an item from her bag, prompting a police officer to suspect a drug transaction. The police drove the wrong way down a one-way street to intervene. As the man fled, another officer opened the woman’s car door, grabbed her wrist and, when she questioned the situation, used vulgar language to ask her to get out. from the car and threatened to pepper spray her. No drugs were found and one of the arresting officers later admitted he had no idea why she had been arrested.

Similar incidents occurred frequently on the streets of Trenton, the report said. Lacking adequate oversight and sufficient training on legal standards and established police protocols, Trenton officers have developed a consistent pattern of ignoring these guidelines.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.