New Jersey attorney general to keep control of Paterson Police after top court ruling

The New Jersey attorney general will keep control of the Paterson Police Department after the state’s top court on Wednesday rejected city officials’ claims that the takeover went beyond the agency’s authority.

The unanimous decision — which overturned an appellate court ruling in the city’s favor — effectively ends Paterson’s attempts to free itself from attorney general oversight, now in its third year.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin applauded the decision at a Wednesday afternoon news conference outside the department’s Broadway headquarters, saying it “ends a multiyear distraction that we have dealt with.”

“I’m extraordinarily gratified that the court did say — emphatically — that what we did was legal,” Platkin said. “We are going to be here until the job is done. And we’ll continue to work with the community to ensure that public safety is provided in a way they can be proud of.”

Platkin seized control of the oft-troubled department in March 2023 after years of missteps, officer arrests and the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Najee Seabrooks, a violence intervention specialist who had collapsed into a mental health crisis and barricaded himself in his apartment before police shot him.

The controversial shooting, which happened just weeks before the attorney general’s move, led to an eruption of protests and calls to reform what many believe to be a heavy-handed, corrupt police department.

Platkin took over day-to-day operations, dismissed the police chief, and installed former NYPD Chief Isa Abbassi to oversee the 400-member police department.

But Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh and other city officials fought back, claiming in a pair of complaints that Platkin did not have the authority to take such sweeping steps over the objections of local authorities.

The appellate court listened with a sympathetic ear, then ruled that Platkin had, indeed, overstepped his bounds.

But the state Supreme Court rejected that conclusion, instead deciding that lawmakers had approved laws supporting Platkin’s efforts to reform the Silk City police, and thereby gave their blessing to the move.

“The Legislature did not question, much less invalidate, the supersession here; to the contrary, it expressly acknowledged that the Attorney General had superseded control of the Department and took affirmative steps to ensure that the [officer-in-charge] would succeed in his crucial role in that supersession,” the opinion read.

“In this instance, the Attorney General’s supersession advances the Legislature’s goals and should proceed.”

The court did, however, stop short of telling the attorney general he could take over municipal departments at will. The Paterson case was unique, and other supersessions could be challenged in court.

Sayegh, who led the charge against state intervention, said he was disappointed that the court ducked the issue by focusing on lawmakers’ intent, not the limits of the attorney general’s power.

“You have the state appellate court that’s saying, ‘OK, the takeover is illegal,’ and now the state Supreme Court, they’re not saying he has the authority either,” Sayegh told The Jersey Vindicator. “What they’re saying is there was legislative intent — so essentially, they’re sidestepping the question of, ‘Does he have the authority?’”

“I think they should have addressed the issue,” Sayegh said. “Clearly, I feel like the state appellate court got it right.”

Meanwhile, the attorney general said his changes have paid off.

Violent crime, shootings, and homicides have all dropped from their 2022 levels, and authorities have addressed quality-of-life issues such as the prevalence of illegal ATVs, dirt bikes, and unlicensed nightclubs that flood the city’s streets, Platkin’s office said in a statement.

When Abbassi left the top spot, Platkin replaced him in November 2024 with longtime city officer Patrick Murray, who has led the restructuring since.

“What I’ve seen over the last two years has been the most meaningful change in our history,” Murray said in a statement. “We’ve modernized operations, earned back trust, and become a department the public can once again believe in. None of this could have been done without the willingness of our officers to identify a system in need of repairs and help make them.”

Their job is almost done. Platkin said his 55-point reform plan is about 90% complete and should be finished in the fall.

The long-term goal, he said, is to return departmental control to local officials.

“This was a situation that was as challenging as any in the entire country,” Platkin said. “Progress has been made. Let’s keep that progress going. And yes, when the time is right, I agree, a return to local control should occur. We’re not there yet.”