As reported by nj.com, State and County law enforcement officials have stepped up oversight of the Edison Police Department’s internal affairs unit, which has been beset by allegations that it launched politically motivated investigations and quashed credible claims of brutality. The new measures, imposed by the State Attorney General’s Office and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, come in the wake of a recent Star-Ledger series on the police department and its internal affairs functions.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesea, said allegations of excessive force are now investigated exclusively by the Prosecutor’s Office, bypassing the local internal affairs unit. Edison must now also provide monthly reports on its internal affairs activity instead of the quarterly reports required of other law enforcement agencies in New Jersey. Those reports typically consist of statistics. Edison must take the extra step of summarizing each of its internal affairs investigations, the spokesman said.

The State and County stopped short of taking over the department outright, a move sought by some residents and officers on the 168-member force. Loriquet said the monitoring is expected to continue indefinitely.

The newspaper’s series, published in December, revealed an agency in the grip of a vicious, years-long civil war. At least 15 officers or former officers had filed suit against the Township, claiming harassment, age discrimination, retaliation or political influence in promotions and demotions. A 16th lawsuit was filed after the series ran. Legal fees and settlements from those suits have cost taxpayers millions of dollars, the Star-Ledger found.

At least 30 officers were fired or abruptly resigned amid allegations of inappropriate or illegal behavior over the past two decades. During the same time period, 72 troopers were forced out of the State Police, an agency 17 times the size of the Edison Police Department.

Edison’s internal affairs unit has been at the heart of much of the friction in the agency. The Star-Ledger found an IA officer gathered information on politicians and other civilians, acts that are alleged to be done at the behest of the FBI. Attorneys also contend the unit has protected officers accused of brutality.

Tags: Articles, Attorney General, Edison Police Department, IA, Interna; Affairs, NJ Police, NJSP, oversight, Prosecutors Office
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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