Justice Department investigates ACLU's call for federal oversight of Newark police

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NEWARK — The U.S. Department of Justice is actively investigating the American Civil Liberties Union’s call for federal oversight of the Newark Police Department, talking with law enforcement and civic leaders and seeking details of police abuse allegations.

A city councilman, three civil rights leaders, the presidents of Newark’s police unions and a defense attorney who often represents officers accused of misconduct all said they have been approached by federal officials since October.

The probe has focused largely on excessive force complaints and the department’s internal affairs bureau, according to those involved. They said investigators also asked to speak with victims of alleged abuse and requested union documents.

Last month, investigators told Newark’s Fraternal Order of Police they might begin interviewing officers, said Derrick Hatcher, the union president. A federal attorney described the agency’s actions as a "preliminary investigation," Hatcher said.

The Department of Justice has not made any announcements and declined to comment on the probe. But the string of interviews and meetings suggest federal officials are considering the ACLU’s push for oversight of the 1,098-member police department, the state’s largest.

In September, the ACLU filed a 96-page petition citing dozens of lawsuits and years of internal affairs statistics, claiming the department cannot police itself. Advocates’ main concern is with Newark’s internal affairs bureau: only one of 261 of the most serious complaints was sustained over a two-and-a-half year period, according to the petition.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has also become involved, meeting with Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy in December. Members of the ACLU-NJ also discussed the petition with Fishman last month, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity because they are not at liberty to discuss the case publicly.

"The important thing is, they’re there on the ground," said Sam Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha who aided the ACLU on its petition. "They’ve launched an investigation."

A spokeswoman for Fishman declined to comment.

Statewide support of the petition is rising. Six of nine city council members and five civil rights organizations have backed the call for oversight since November.

"We’re pleased, but not surprised, that the Department of Justice is taking the petition seriously," ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs said. "It documents serious misconduct for which redress is long overdue."

McCarthy said the department will cooperate with investigators.

"Somebody is making a claim, and they are obligated to investigate," he said. "I endorse that. I support it."

A city spokeswoman said "the city maintains its position that we are fully capable of managing our police department." She declined to comment further.

The Department of Justice first contacted Hatcher and the union’s lawyer by phone early last month. A few days later, three officials appeared at the FOP’s headquarters, he said.

"They said they would be interviewing officers out in the field on issues regarding internal affairs complaints," he said. Investigators had not approached any officers as of Jan. 13, according to Hatcher. Federal officials wasted little time in probing the department. West Ward Councilman Ron Rice Jr. has spoken with investigators several times since early October, just weeks after the petition was filed.

"It’s no secret that I was investigating certain disciplinary actions and procedures," said Rice, referring to a committee he formed in 2009.

Matthew Johnson, an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and Lawrence Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, said they were questioned about misconduct cases dating back to the 1980s.

"If there were family members of victims, we tried to put them in touch," Hamm said.

Johnson, also a member of People’s Organization for Progress, gave officials information on eight incidents between 1996 and 2009 where prisoners were killed or hurt while in Newark police custody.

Walker said digging into the past may help federal officials understand how deep-rooted a department’s troubles are.

"My best guess is they want to establish a failure to respond to these kinds of problems," he said.

John Chrystal, president of Newark’s Superior Officers Association, said officials requested a copy of his union’s collective bargaining agreement, but didn’t say why they wanted it.

Officials have not set a timetable for a decision, but Jacobs said it could take up to a year.

The state’s Black Ministers Council, NAACP, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Latino Leadership Alliance and the People’s Organization for Progress have asked the Department of Justice to pursue the ACLU’s request since November.

McCarthy criticized civic leaders for falling in line with the ACLU without first inquiring about police reforms.

"Have they come and looked at what we’ve been doing in the Newark Police Department in the past four years?" he said, citing the department’s revised community relations strategy. "Have they come and tried to work collaboratively with us?"