âOfficer Misconduct Down in New Brunswickâ Nicholas Perrone ...
“Officer Misconduct Down in New Brunswick” Nicholas Perrone
Throughout the 2013 year, 85 complaints were filed with the New Brunswick Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit for police officer misconduct, a 9 percent decrease from 2012. According to the New Brunswick Police Department's website, The Internal Affairs Unit "is obligated to investigate any allegation of officer misconduct that may be a violation of the New Brunswick Police rules, regulations, policies, procedures, or general orders." Any person can walk into the New Brunswick Police Department to file a complaint. It is not available online or through email. When a complaint is made, it is sent to a superior officer who first conducts an investigation. After detailed statements are obtained from the complainant and the investigation proves that a crime was committed, the county prosecutor is notified. Court is then held and the complainant may be asked to testify. If the complainant's accusations are sustained, proper action is taken against the officer in question. If the officer is exonerated, then the officer is free of all charges brought against him/her. If the case is found to be not sustained or inconclusive then there was a lack of evidence and the case is dropped. If the case is unfounded then it was determined by the courts that the action described by the complainant did not truly occur. All disciplinary hearings are closed to the public.
Timothy McDougald believes that the process of the Internal Affairs Unit is not working for him and his constituents. McDougald, a resident of Somerset, N.J., has been involved in a battle with the New Brunswick Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit over a complaint he filed five-years ago against two officers. McDougald was apprehensive about submitting a complaint through the Internal Affairs process because he "figured what would happen with that process" and that he would be ignored in favor of the two officers. After an extensive amount of time, McDougald found out that "Internal Affairs swept it under the rug." McDougald's two witnesses were never contacted and the two officers in question were exonerated. According to McDougald, by not contacting his witnesses, the Internal Affairs Unit violated New Jersey's Attourney General Guidelines. The Internal Affairs Unit is not immune from allegations of corruption. in 2011 Sgt. Richard Rowe, head of the Internal Affairs Unit for five years was accused of falsifying, hiding, removing, and destroying files related to the investigations. According to monthly reviews by the Internal Affairs Unit at 25 Kirkpatrick St., "Demeanor" was the most reported incident from New Brunswick citizens in 2013 at around 32 percent of all filed complaints. Excessive force took a close second at 29 percent of all complaints for 2013.
Page 3 Nicholas Perrone/Feature Story Final Tormel Pittman, a New Brunswick activist and resident believes that there is a race issue in the New Brunswick Police Department. "When Blacks and Latinos get killed they hire more White officers" said Pittman, "that's insane".
Type of Complaint Against Officer 2013 Excessive Force 4%
Improper Arrest
15%
Improper Entry
29%
Improper Search Other Criminal Violation 5%
32% 8%
5%
0%
2%
Differntial Treatment Demeanor Domestic Violence
68 percent of New Brunswick's officers that had complaints filed against them were white and 93 percent were male. The race of the complainant was rather equal across the board. 38 percent were other/unknown, 27 percent were black, 21 percent were white and 14 percent were Hispanic.
Race of Complainant 2013 21% 38%
White Black Hispanic
27% 14%
Other/Unk.
Race of Officer 2013 8% White
11%
Black 13%
Hispanic 68%
Other/Unk.
Gender of Officer 2013 1% 6% Male Female Unk. 93%
63 percent of all cases against police in 2013 ruled in favor of the officer and were exonerated. According to nationwide surveys, only 8 percent of complaints are sustained. New Brunswick cases were slightly higher than the national average, obtaining 12 percent cases sustained. McDougald is still waiting for his witnesses to be testified. "The process just doesn't work" said McDougald, "It can't work."
Throughout the 2013 year, 85 complaints were filed with the New Brunswick Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit for police officer misconduct, a 9 percent decrease from 2012. According to the New Brunswick Police Department's website, The Internal Affairs Unit "is obligated to investigate any allegation of officer misconduct that may be a violation of the New Brunswick Police rules, regulations, policies, procedures, or general orders." Any person can walk into the New Brunswick Police Department to file a complaint. It is not available online or through email. When a complaint is made, it is sent to a superior officer who first conducts an investigation. After detailed statements are obtained from the complainant and the investigation proves that a crime was committed, the county prosecutor is notified. Court is then held and the complainant may be asked to testify. If the complainant's accusations are sustained, proper action is taken against the officer in question. If the officer is exonerated, then the officer is free of all charges brought against him/her. If the case is found to be not sustained or inconclusive then there was a lack of evidence and the case is dropped. If the case is unfounded then it was determined by the courts that the action described by the complainant did not truly occur. All disciplinary hearings are closed to the public.
Timothy McDougald believes that the process of the Internal Affairs Unit is not working for him and his constituents. McDougald, a resident of Somerset, N.J., has been involved in a battle with the New Brunswick Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit over a complaint he filed five-years ago against two officers. McDougald was apprehensive about submitting a complaint through the Internal Affairs process because he "figured what would happen with that process" and that he would be ignored in favor of the two officers. After an extensive amount of time, McDougald found out that "Internal Affairs swept it under the rug." McDougald's two witnesses were never contacted and the two officers in question were exonerated. According to McDougald, by not contacting his witnesses, the Internal Affairs Unit violated New Jersey's Attourney General Guidelines. The Internal Affairs Unit is not immune from allegations of corruption. in 2011 Sgt. Richard Rowe, head of the Internal Affairs Unit for five years was accused of falsifying, hiding, removing, and destroying files related to the investigations. According to monthly reviews by the Internal Affairs Unit at 25 Kirkpatrick St., "Demeanor" was the most reported incident from New Brunswick citizens in 2013 at around 32 percent of all filed complaints. Excessive force took a close second at 29 percent of all complaints for 2013.
Page 3 Nicholas Perrone/Feature Story Final Tormel Pittman, a New Brunswick activist and resident believes that there is a race issue in the New Brunswick Police Department. "When Blacks and Latinos get killed they hire more White officers" said Pittman, "that's insane".
Type of Complaint Against Officer 2013 Excessive Force 4%
Improper Arrest
15%
Improper Entry
29%
Improper Search Other Criminal Violation 5%
32% 8%
5%
0%
2%
Differntial Treatment Demeanor Domestic Violence
68 percent of New Brunswick's officers that had complaints filed against them were white and 93 percent were male. The race of the complainant was rather equal across the board. 38 percent were other/unknown, 27 percent were black, 21 percent were white and 14 percent were Hispanic.
Race of Complainant 2013 21% 38%
White Black Hispanic
27% 14%
Other/Unk.
Race of Officer 2013 8% White
11%
Black 13%
Hispanic 68%
Other/Unk.
Gender of Officer 2013 1% 6% Male Female Unk. 93%
63 percent of all cases against police in 2013 ruled in favor of the officer and were exonerated. According to nationwide surveys, only 8 percent of complaints are sustained. New Brunswick cases were slightly higher than the national average, obtaining 12 percent cases sustained. McDougald is still waiting for his witnesses to be testified. "The process just doesn't work" said McDougald, "It can't work."
