New Jersey’s Trenton Police Department and the City of Trenton are accused of violating the U.S. Constitution by unlawfully using excessive force and making illegal arrests, according to an investigation led by the Department of Justice.
In the scathing DOJ report published Thursday, the agency’s civil rights division said TPD officers systematically use excessive force — including the “unreasonable” use of physical force and pepper spray, even when there’s no significant resistance or danger.
US Department of Justice
In an undated image from a Justice Department report, a Trenton PD officer pepper sprays a suspect. (US Department of Justice)
Trenton police have also been found to routinely conduct traffic stops and make arrests “without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”
The violations that have not only “eroded community trust,” the DOJ said, but cost the city more than $7 million since 2021 in lawsuits involving accusations of officer misconduct.
“Police officers must respect people’s civil and constitutional rights and treat people with dignity,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “After an extensive review, we found that police officers in Trenton routinely failed to respect the Fourth Amendment rights of those who call Trenton home.”
The 45-page report follows a yearlong investigation into Trenton police after multiple allegations of civil rights violations in the New Jersey capital. One of those accusations stemmed from a 2023 incident when an officer stomped on a man’s hand “multiple times once he was on the ground” during an arrest attempt. The officer also kneeled on the man’s head and kicked him in the shoulder.
“For too long, the residents of Trenton have felt afraid of the police, rather than protected by them,” New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. “The use of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, sometimes with tragic consequences, have eroded public trust and undermined public safety.”
The report also listed over two dozen recommendations designed to “provide a framework for changes” that both the city and the department should implement to improve public safety and trust.
In a statement shared with the press, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said the city would continue to work with the DOJ, state agencies and the community “to implement the recommendations highlighted in the report as quickly as possible.”
