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NJ attorney general selects NYPD veteran for officer in charge of Paterson Police Department
By
Elizabeth Shwe
Published May 9, 2023
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By
Elizabeth Shwe
Published May 9, 2023
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New Jersey State Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Tuesday announced his appointment of Isa Abbassi, a 26-year NYPD veteran, as the officer in charge of the Paterson Police Department.
With the NYPD, Abbassi was tasked with building community relations with the Staten Island police after the 2014 death of Eric Garner, and later won recognition for crime and violence reduction in Staten Island in 2019.
“Office in Charge Abbassi has proven himself to be a leader who can bring police and community together, even when the relationship might seem irreparable,” Platkin said.
Abbassi said his priorities for the department are to rebuild trust, restore order in the community, evolve community policing, evaluate the best practices in technology and work on recruitment training and employee wellbeing.
“I believe in strong oversight and accountability," Abbassi said. "I hold supervisors and executive staff strictly accountable. I believe in public communication and transparency. I believe in letting the community and the government know what the mission and the agenda of the police department is."
There’s going to be no ‘mission accomplished’ banner in the next six weeks or six months. This is going to be an operation that’s measured in terms of months and years, and I think the public needs that.
New Jersey State Attorney General Matthew Platkin
The appointment comes shortly after Platkin’s office took control of the scandal-plagued Paterson Police Department in March, less than a month after officers fatally shot 31 year old anti-violence worker Najee Seabrooks in his home after a mental health crisis.
Dozens of New Jersey organizations alleged that Paterson police had engaged in a pattern of misconduct that disproportionately affected Black and brown residents, and called for a federal Department of Justice investigation into the police department.
In February, Platkin filed an assault charge against a Paterson police officer who shot a fleeing man in the back and paralyzed him.
There is also an ongoing lawsuit against the city in the 2019 death of Jameek Lowery, who died in police custody. Family members alleged he was restrained and beaten on the way to the hospital after he sought help from police during a mental breakdown.
Platkin said that change is necessary, but it will take time.
“There’s going to be no ‘mission accomplished’ banner in the next six weeks or six months. This is going to be an operation that’s measured in terms of months and years, and I think the public needs that,” Platkin said. “This is a department that has not had stability for a long time.”
Abbassi will be holding community listening sessions in each of Paterson’s six wards this month.
Tagged
public safety
new jersey
Elizabeth Shwe
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