While there is a great deal of diversity in how the 18,000-plus law enforcement agencies around the country are arranged, municipal police departments are generally run by a sworn chief of police. Though the argument could be made that they’re actually run by mayors and city managers (who chiefs typically answer to), such an argument in Paterson, New Jersey, would be unnecessary. Currently, Paterson is running the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

In March 2023, activists in New Jersey’s third-largest city were pushing for the United States Department of Justice to investigate their police department. The Paterson P.D. had been involved in several high-profile shootings. A 31-year-old man named Najee Seabrooks had called 9-1-1 to report that he was having a mental health crisis but refused to come out of his bathroom for hours before finally emerging and lunging at police with a knife in his hand. Activists complained that the police should have simply left the area. 

Shortly before that, a Paterson officer had been charged with aggravated assault and official misconduct after shooting a man named Khalif Cooper in the back. The charges were later dropped when prosecutors found photographs that had not been provided to the grand jury. The photographs showed Cooper with a gun on the day he was shot.

As activists called for federal intervention, the New Jersey attorney general stepped in, seizing control of the police department. This is, apparently, not unprecedented in New Jersey, the state having done the same to the crime-riddled city of Camden in 1998. As part of the takeover, the attorney general also placed an attorney general employee over the department.

The intervening time period has seen several different things take place. Many area activists seem to be happy, praising the move. The city of Paterson is, unsurprisingly, not happy with the move. They sued to have the move overturned. In December 2024, a New Jersey appellate court ruled that the attorney general had overstepped his authority. Both parties are now waiting on the Supreme Court to weigh in.

One thing both sides seem to agree on, though, is that the city doesn’t have enough police officers. When the takeover occurred, Paterson had 439 officers. This was the maximum allowed by a special arrangement in which the state was already providing subsidies to the cash-strapped city. A local activist named Ernest Rucker expressed concern about losing resources if the state takeover were to end.

 “We need to go back to 500-plus officers to get a real quality public safety,” Rucker told NorthJersey.com.

The local PBA president, Angel Jimenez, complained that the actual officer count was even lower than the official number. He pointed out that there were only about 360 officers actually available for duty.

Despite the fact that the state has been pumping extra money into the police department, the official officer count is now even lower than the 493 on the payroll when the state took over. Much of the extra money has gone toward overtime assignments meant to curb crime. This extra work has occurred even as the department’s manpower has shrunk. 

It’s difficult to know exactly why the department’s actual manpower has shrunk, even as its budget has gone up. Officers could, perhaps, be burned out by the extra work being done with less people. Another potential explanation could be that they are simply opting for greener pastures. Seattle, Washington, recently joined a growing list of municipalities experiencing drastic officer shortages after anti-police activism. At the end of the day, some officers simply may choose not to work in communities embroiled in such controversy.

The legality of the attorney general’s seizure of the department will be decided at some point by the state supreme court.