Today, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division Issued a Temporary Stay on the release of public disclosure of the identities of Law Enforcement Officer who have been sanctioned for “serious disciplinary violations”, defined as
“termination of employment, reduction in rank or grade, and/or suspension greater than five days”.  In issuing the Stay a briefing

As reported by NJ.com, all police officers in New Jersey are now subject to random drug-testing under a directive from the State’s new Attorney General. Police Departments are also required to implement “early warning systems” triggered by problem behavior such as misconduct accusations, lawsuits, domestic abuse and drunken driving under a separate directive announced

As reported in the New Jersey Law Journal, New Jersey Attorney General, Gurbir Grewal made an announcement that police dashcam and body cam videos documenting use of deadly force should be subject to public release once the corresponding initial investigation is complete.  According to the press release, the directive is being issued in the

Body Cameras

As reported by NJ.com, troopers at three State Police stations began patrolling with body-worn cameras this weekend as the Division prepares to outfit every officer on the road with the technology. Uniformed troopers assigned to Bordentown, Bellmawr, and Red Lion stations turned on their cameras on Saturday as part of an “initial deployment program,”

Body Cameras

As reported by NJ.com, New Jersey’s Attorney General will give out more than half a million dollars in funding for police departments across the State to purchase body-worn cameras.  The announcement marks the second round of funding for the devices after the Attorney General’s Office distributed $2.5 million last year amid a climate of

police car

As reported by NJ.com, a bill before the State Legislature would require state authorities to identify police officers involved in fatal shootings and in-custody deaths within 48 hours of the incident.  The public notification requirement was added as an amendment to legislation that would put all fatal police shooting investigations under the State’s Attorney

As reported by nj.com, amid a rising tide of violence in Trenton, including a murder in the shadow of the Statehouse on Route 29, the State Attorney General sent officials yesterday to discuss helping Trenton’s layoff-depleted police department, Mercer County Prosecutor Joe Bocchini said today. The meeting between Bocchini, Trenton acting Police Director

As reported by nj.com, Attorney General Paula Dow, flanked by county prosecutors and state officials, formally unveiled a group of reforms designed to eliminate the abuse of anabolic steroids in New Jersey’s law enforcement ranks.

The measures, recommended by a panel Dow formed in December, pave the way for police departments to randomly test officers for steroids, increase safeguards in taxpayer-funded prescription drug plans, and heighten scrutiny of physicans who improperly prescribe steroids and human growth hormone. The reforms follow a series of Star-ledger reports about the use of steroids in law enforcement. The newspaper found at least 248 officers and firefighters obtained the substances from an unscrupulous Jersey City physician, Joseph Colao. In most cases, they used their government benefits to pay for drugs that ran as much as $1,100 a month. Taxpayers picked up the bill, which amounted to millions of dollars. 

“The investigative series done by The Newark Star-Ledger highlighted the damage that can be done when a doctor’s actions go unchecked and individuals become aware of the opportunity to obtain medications they may not be entitled to,” Dow said at a press conference in Hamilton. “The cost is borne not just by taxpayers, but in the erosion of faith people have in those who protect and serve. This is unacceptable.”

Among the initiatives, state guidelines on drug-testing will be rewritten to explicitly authorize departments to randomly test their officers for steroids. The guidelines will also allow chiefs or prosecutors to test officers if they have a “reasonable suspicion” of steroid use or as a condition of fitness-for-duty evaluations.

Other measures include:

·         Any officer who tests positive will be required to provide a note from a physician confirming that the use of steroids or human growth hormone is for a legitimate medical condition and that the officer is fit for duty.

·         Departments are encouraged to require officers to self-report prescriptions for anabolic steroids and human growth hormone based on the authority to determine fitness for duty.

.     Dow will recommend prescriptions for steroids or growth hormone be filled largely by mail order through Medco, the state’s pharmacy benefits manager. The provision is meant to help Medco spot potential abuses.Continue Reading NJ Attorney General Unveils Reforms To Stop Steroid Abuse By Law Enforcement Officers