Reform plan still has Paterson police responding to mental health crises

Some changes made, but not yet addressed is what many see as main problem — armed officers intervening instead of mental health experts

By Taylor Jung

On October 2, 2023

It’s been six months since the state attorney general’s office took over the Paterson Police Department, and nearly seven months since the department’s officers killed Najee Seabrooks, a violence interventionist who was experiencing a mental health crisis. 

The attorney general’s office last week released its sweeping plan to fix the troubled police department, including new outreach with the community and greater accountability within the department.  

But to some community advocates, less highlighted was the one area that led to the takeover in the first place: how police respond to emergency mental health calls. 

“Ever since the death of Najee Seabrooks, instead of getting justice (and) transparency for Najee … it has been a PR campaign to prove to the public that the police are good, instead of focusing on the real reasons of why there was a state takeover,” said Zellie Thomas, main organizer for Black Lives Matter Paterson. 

“They still are heavily relying on policing to address issues that are … essentially not police issues,” Thomas said. 

Echoing a growing sentiment nationwide, Thomas and other advocates in Paterson have been pressing for police to stay back from emergency mental health calls like the one that led to Seabrooks’ death. They cite how police aren’t adequately trained to handle such emergencies and their presence can exacerbate situations in Black and brown communities where trust is low. 

Crisis response still pending  

At the state’s press conference last week, crisis response was raised as one of the reforms to come. Among the recommendations was an upgrade of body-camera technologies and a new requirement that a supervisor be present in certain instances.  

And as previously announced, the department reiterated its plans to join the state’s Arrive Together program that teams police with mental health providers, a strategy that has been adopted in dozens of communities nationwide, including in New Jersey. 

But there was little beyond that, and nothing specific about how that program would work, advocates said. Liza Chowdhury, project director of the Paterson Healing Collective, where Seabrooks was a violence interventionist, said that it’s important the state has non-police responses to mental health crises. 

“In our communities, we’re using police as a first resort. And they’re just not equipped to do it. And if you have a gun, and you bring a gun to a situation where somebody is extremely triggered or feels paranoid, it’s just a recipe for disaster,” said Chowdhury. 

Expert help spurned  

Seabrooks’ colleagues from the Healing Collective are trained to de-escalate mental health emergencies, but police barred them from helping that day. 

Chowdhury said she hopes to continue conversations with the attorney general’s office about mental health responses that don’t involve police at all, but instead train groups like hers to de-escalate situations.  

The state’s appointed chief, Officer-in-Charge Isa Abbassi, told NJ Spotlight News last Tuesday that he does plan on working with community-based violence intervention groups, although did not specify how. 

‘We continue to urge the office of the attorney general to support a non-police force response to individuals in mental health crises. And to increase collaboration with community-based violence intervention groups.’ — Yannick Wood, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

The released outline of the state’s 55 benchmark goals for the department lists that the police department will “involve non-law enforcement responses.” It also says more officers will be trained in de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques.  

When asked to elaborate on what “non-law enforcement responses” would look like, and when Arrive Together would be implemented, attorney general’s office spokesperson Rob Rowan said the department has taken input from various groups and that the program would be established by the end of the year. 

Under discussion  

“Since the Attorney General’s May town hall meeting, we have had numerous conversations with members of the Paterson community, including community organizations, mental health providers, and law enforcement,” said Rowan in an email.  

“Importantly, we have learned through our successful launches across the State that it is important to meet communities where they are and tailor programs that meet each community’s specific needs,” he added. 

But after the press conference, advocates said the attorney general and the Paterson Police Department need to support non-police responses to mental health crises. 

“We need to make sure that the attorney general is actually bringing transformation (to) the Paterson (Police Department) and not just a rebranding,” said Yannick Wood, director of the criminal justice reform program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. 

“We continue to urge the office of the attorney general to support a non-police force response to individuals in mental health crises. And to increase collaboration with community-based violence intervention groups,” he added. 

Overall, much of the police department’s plan focuses on restoring trust with Paterson, which residents have said at various forums was broken after years of alleged misconduct and neglect.  

Some changes were welcomed by advocates, like moving the internal affairs department away from the police building, establishing more meetings with community members and creating business cards to make officers more accessible.  

But advocates said the pledges are just a start. “The heavy lift reforms,” Wood said, “… that’s going to take time to undo the damage that stems from decades of police misconduct. So yes, we have to wait and see what actually happens.” 

This piece was republished from the NJ Spotlight News.