On Tuesday, September 4, an Appellate Panel heard oral arguments in a case that the League participated in as amicus involving the NJ Attorney General’s authority to take over the day-to-day operations of a municipal law enforcement agency.
The case stems from Attorney General Matt Platkin’s complete supersession of the Paterson police department in March 2023. In the takeover Attorney General Platkin removed Paterson’s newly appointed Chief of Police, Englebert Ribeiro, replacing him with retired New York Police Chief Isa Abbassi, as Officer in Charge and reassigning Ribeiro to the Attorney General’s Police Training Commission.
The case involves a dispute over the Attorney General’s power to take such drastic action to supersede the entire operations of a municipal law enforcement agency. The League joined as amicus in support of the arguments made by Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, that the Attorney General does not have such broad authority, and his actions are not supported by law and run contrary to the principles of home rule.
There is no timeframe for a decision from the Appellate Panel. The League will continue to provide updates on the matter.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x137.