NJ police abuse: We fixed some problems, but more cops charged, more millions spent

Beatings, fraud, coverups. Eighteen New Jersey cops were charged, convicted or sentenced in federal court this year on accusations they broke the laws they swore to uphold.

One rogue Paterson cop, Ruben McAusland, 26, pleaded guilty to dealing narcotics he stole from a crime scene while on-duty and in uniform. In a separate incident, McAusland admitted he beat a suicidal hospital patient while a fellow officer recorded a video. That accomplice later deleted the video and pleaded guilty to concealing the crime.

McAusland’s crimes and the criminal charges against other officers show the need for federal intervention when the state can’t control bad cops.

As an investigation by the Asbury Park Press and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey exposed in January, bad cops can remain on local police forces for years because of weak oversight and the government’s penchant to cover up mayhem with money — settlements which have cost taxpayers more than $60 million since 2010.

The Network's “Protecting the Shield” series exposed the government’s secret protection system for bad cops and sparked immediate reforms. There is also a movement in the Legislature to pass tougher laws to weed out violent cops before they harm or kill.

PROTECTING THE SHIELD: Check out the full series here

“We need transparency and accountability, and I believe New Jersey is making strides towards that," said state Sen. Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen. "News reports like yours have been very helpful in getting us there.”

The office of Attorney General Gurbir Grewal underscored Thursday a commitment to improving transparency and accountability.

In response to Asbury Park Press questions, including whether Grewal will seek a way to ban bad cops and make public the results of internal police investigations, his office issued a statement saying they are working to improve data collection and police oversight. The statement pointed to a new unit in the office tasked with combatting public corruption.

“The newly created Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is undertaking a comprehensive review of existing laws, policies and directives to identify ways to enhance our criminal justice system,” the statement said.

After the "Shield” was published in January, the state moved to root out drug-abusing cops and set up procedures to identify officers who could pose problems to the public, such as those with too many excessive force complaints.

More:State again targets bad cops after 'Protecting the Shield'

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More:Lawmakers promise changes to dump bad cops after APP investigation

And more changes are coming to ensure bad cops don’t walk the streets.

State lawmakers and the state attorney general pledged to enact further safeguards. Changes being considered include: tracking each cop’s performance history so the bad ones can’t jump from police department to department; enacting a law to make the findings of internal police investigations public; and finding ways to disclose a police officer’s past in court if he or she has a history that includes issues such as lying or racial bias.

“I think you’ve started a process that will help increase respect for law enforcement, which should be everyone’s goal,” said state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth. “I think it’s a net positive.”

More:APP impact: NJ combats rogue cops after The Shield

After the Network detailed allegations of a cover-up of a crash involving a police vehicle and a 15-year-old girl in Haddon Township, and claims of misconduct against the chief of that police department, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office took over the department’s internal affairs unit.

Feds stepping in

New Jersey saw more federal prosecutions of police officers this year than New York or California — states with much larger populations and many more police officers — according to a review of records from the U.S. attorneys’ offices. New Jersey has almost 34,000 police officers, while California has more than 79,000 and New York has more than 66,000, according to the latest available numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

One policing expert said political concerns in New Jersey government lead to a soft approach to bad cops.

“Cases that normally would be prosecuted on a state level, because of politics, they don’t get prosecuted on a state level,” said Joseph J. Blaettler, a retired deputy chief of police from Union City who testifies in court as an expert. “So the feds have no choice but to step in.”

One Atlantic City officer highlighted in the Network's "Shield" reporting was indicted by a federal grand jury in October. Sterling Wheaten, 35, has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating a person’s civil rights and falsifying documents in connection with his police dog giving a potentially fatal bite to a suspect’s neck. A state grand jury had declined to indict the officer in 2015.

More:Jury says Atlantic City to blame for a rogue cop, K-9 attack

Protecting the Shield

Bad cops can cost taxpayers seven-figure sums in lawsuit settlements.

More than $60 million was paid to compensate, even silence, victims or their survivors who claimed police abuse, the Network found in its ongoing review of lawsuits.

The payouts include more than $49 million for claims of 156 injuries and 24 deaths, and more than $10 million related to claims of racial discrimination, political retribution or retaliation against whistleblowers.

Last month, the Network revealed Seaside Park agreed to a $700,000 payment to settle a claim that a borough police sergeant bullied a police recruit and pointed a gun at his head.

More:Seaside Park to pay $700K to police recruit for bullying

Misconduct by even one officer can wreak havoc on the public.

Evidence in more than 20,000 drunken driving cases in five counties was recently tossed by the state Supreme Court after a State Police sergeant’s alleged crime. Marc Dennis, 47, is accused of falsifying records regarding the testing of equipment that measured alcohol in a driver’s breath. He has pleaded not guilty and his case is ongoing.

More:NJ drunken driving: 10,000 cases at Jersey Shore could be wiped out

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In its three-year long investigation, the Network found victims who have been assaulted and even killed by troubled cops known to their superiors.

The Network exposed the state’s shortcomings on a spectrum of policing issues, including deadly use of force, abuse of the internal affairs process, drug testing oversights, secret police separation agreements, police sexual misconduct, police abuse and whistleblower lawsuits, gaps and flaws in police employment data and the doubts surrounding an officer’s credibility in court.

To get a complete picture of policing problems in New Jersey, the Network interviewed sources from the street to the highest levels of the state’s policing system, including: a victim of a police beating caught on camera; the families of people who died during interactions with the police; an imprisoned police sergeant who fatally shot his ex-wife; the wife of an officer who died after crashing his car while drunk and on drugs; civil rights attorneys; police chiefs; county prosecutors; the president of the largest police union in the state; and the state attorney general.

The "Shield" series was followed by a publicly broadcast community forum attended by O’Scanlon, and former police officer and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, D-Bergen, both of whom committed to pursuing policing reform.

PROTECTING THE SHIELD: Watch the full forum here

More:'Protecting the Shield' forum: Getting bad cops off the streets

The reforms recommended by the Network and put in place by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in March included random drug testing for all New Jersey police officers and “early warning system” policies to identified troubled cops before they cause harm.

Grewal’s office is working on a policy to address the way credibility issues in an officer’s background are disclosed when they go to court, according to a spokesman.

More change coming

O’Scanlon told the Network that policymakers are working on a system that will enable hiring agencies to see a police officer’s entire history, including commendations and investigations of misconduct.

“We’re in active discussions about it,” O’Scanlon said.

Assemblymen Johnson and John McKeon, D-Morris, each said they’re also pursuing legislation to ensure an officer’s history follows them throughout their career and between departments. 

Johnson is a former Bergen County sheriff who served as an Englewood police officer for 24 years. He said he asked the statehouse support staff to draft a bill to require an officer’s personnel history to be transferred when that officer moves between departments.

In its reporting, the Network found 68 police officers who were allowed to quietly resign while facing discipline, often with their departments agreeing to stay silent about that alleged wrongdoing. At least four of those officers continued their careers in law enforcement.

Johnson also said he will pursue a bill that would make public the results of internal affairs investigations.

“We have law enforcement professionals out there trying to do a good job for their jurisdictions,” Johnson said. “There are always some individuals that come out — either through their behavior or their beliefs — that causes a problem with the public that they are supposed to be representing. I think that particularly in local jurisdictions, local police, that the people that are within that city, borough, village, township, should know about their police department and how they’re performing.”

Will New Jersey ban bad cops?

The Network also called for New Jersey to find a way to ban bad cops, which in some states is a process called “decertification.”

So far New Jersey lawmakers and the state attorney general haven’t pursued this change, leaving the Garden State nearly alone in the nation as one of four states without a way to toss bad cops from the profession.

New Jersey does license dozens of other professionals, including doctors, master plumbers and massage therapists. New Jersey already maintains a statewide secret list of police officers who have failed drug tests.

A state list of officers otherwise found unfit to serve “would be a great tool,” said Bloomfield Public Safety Director Samuel A. DeMaio.

“Decertification is no different than other professions that are licensed and the license can be revoked,” said Rich Rivera, an internal affairs expert and former West New York police officer. 

“All of us that have driver's licenses, that’s a privilege and that too can be revoked,” Rivera said. “The same should happen with police officers in New Jersey. It exists in 46 other states.”

PBA President Pat Colligan, whose group represents the majority of officers in the state, didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment for this story.

Colligan previously told the Network that “it’s very rare” that an officer who is a problem in one town moves on to another town. Colligan said “New Jersey has no control” over whether an officer goes to another state or not.

But New Jersey could take steps to participate in a national safeguard against traveling troubled cops.

The International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards, based in Idaho, maintains a national database of more than 25,000 officers deemed unfit to serve. Without a state process for banning bad cops, New Jersey can’t contribute to the national list.

“Those states that don’t have decertification authority, they often have police officers that have been convicted of serious misconduct or have committed crimes,” Executive Director Michael N. Becar said. “And they terminate those officers, but there’s nothing to prohibit them from gaining employment in other states without a decertification process. So many times they go to different states and start committing the same offenses.”

Andrew Ford: @AndrewFordNews; 732-643-4281; aford3@gannettnj.com