NJ attorney general exceeded authority by taking over Paterson police, court finds

Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An appeals court says New Jersey’s top law enforcement official overstepped his authority last year when he took control of the police force in the state’s third-largest city soon after Paterson police fatally shot a man barricaded in an apartment bathroom. The New Jersey Appellate Division said Wednesday that Attorney General Matt Platkin had no such authority to “supersede,” or take over, Paterson’s police force in March 2023 after the headline-grabbing death of Najee Seabrooks. The ruling was put on hold pending appeal, and Platkin vowed to take the case to the state Supreme Court. Paterson’s mayor hailed the court’s decision.