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Najee Seabrooks

Police & Fire
Summer Shootings In Paterson Plummet Amid NJ Police Takeover Summer Shootings In Paterson Plummet Amid NJ Police Takeover
Summer Shootings In Paterson Plummet Amid NJ Police Takeover Facts don't lie. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin promised a reduction in crime in Paterson following the second-ever state takeover of a local police department in New Jersey's history. So far, he's delivering. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day -- a time when America's cities ordinarily suffer the most violence -- shootings in the Silk City plummeted by 41.2% compared with the same period last year, state officials reported. In that time, Paterson has also had the fewest summer shooting victims in five years, they said. Reported robberies decreased by nearly 38%. Aggravated assault…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Help Goes To Distraught Knife-Wielding Man After Paterson's First Standoff Since State Takeover Help Goes To Distraught Knife-Wielding Man After Paterson's First Standoff Since State Takeover
Help Goes To Distraught Knife-Wielding Man After Paterson's First Standoff Since State Takeover UPDATE: The first standoff in Paterson since the state attorney general's office took control of the police department ended peacefully last weekend when a distraught man wielding a knife surrendered after 6½ hours, authorities announced. He was immediately placed into a mental health program, they said. Paterson and New Jersey State police worked together to resolve the confrontation with no injuries at NJ TRANSIT's Market Street garage last Saturday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. No charges were filed, either, because the incident was considered a mental-health crisi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover
Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover The first standoff in Paterson since the state attorney general's office took control of the police department ended peacefully last weekend when a distraught man wielding a knife surrendered after 6 ½ hours, authorities said. Paterson and New Jersey State police worked together to resolve the confrontation with no injuries at NJ TRANSIT's Market Street garage, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Friday, April 14 No charges were filed, either, because the incident was considered a mental-health crisis that “involved police action as part of law enforcement’s community caret…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here
NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here “There is no safety without trust,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in announcing a state takeover of the day-to-day operations of the Paterson Police Department and plans to include mental health professionals in responses to barricaded individuals there and statewide. Experience has shown that both moves are absolutely necessary at the moment, the state’s top law enforcement officer said. “There is a crisis of confidence in law enforcement in this city,” Platkin said, speaking outside the Frank X. Graves Jr. Public Safety Complex on Broadway on March 27. “Under these ci…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Video Shows Paterson Non-Violence Activist Bursting From Bathroom With Knife When He's Shot Video Shows Paterson Non-Violence Activist Bursting From Bathroom With Knife When He's Shot
Video Shows Paterson Non-Violence Activist Bursting From Bathroom With Knife When He's Shot Najee Seabrooks gripped two bloody knives, at least one of which he'd been cutting himself with in his bathroom, as a knot of Paterson police officers in tactical gear tried to talk him into surrendering, video released by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Thursday shows. Seabrooks, a respected and admired non-violence activist, was in the middle of what family members said was apparently a drug-induced mental health crisis that March 3 morning. He held two knives within view that he refused to let go of and told police that had a gun, which state Attorney General Matthew Platkin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Brawl Between Paterson Officials Nearly Breaks Out During Council Meeting Brawl Between Paterson Officials Nearly Breaks Out During Council Meeting
Brawl Between Paterson Officials Nearly Breaks Out During Council Meeting A Paterson city council meeting nearly turned violent between two elected officials. The Tuesday, March 14 meeting was a forum open to the public following the police shooting death of Najee Seabrooks earlier this month.  What Najee Seabrooks did with inner-city youngsters was “life-changing, soul-saving kind of work.”New Jersey Violence Intervention and Prevention Coalition As a woman was speaking, approximately 90 minutes into the meeting, Paterson Council Member Mike Jackson and Chief Financial Officer Javier Silva stood up and began arguing.  Police officers and other elected offic…

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by Cecilia Levine
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3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says 3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says
3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says UPDATE: Three Paterson police officers first employed “less lethal force” before two others shot and killed a local non-violence activist who was in the middle of a mental health crisis last week, the state’s top law enforcement official said Wednesday. Tensions were rising in the city as New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin formally identified Najee Seabrooks, who was killed during the nearly five-hour confrontation at his home last Friday, and the officers who were directly involved in a release on Wednesday. Mayor Andre Sayegh, who has been criticized by community leaders for …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates
Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates The shooting death of a Paterson non-violence activist following a five-hour barricaded standoff with city police has a pained, shaken and angry community demanding answers. Najee Seabrooks was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson shortly after the 12:30 p.m. shooting at an apartment near the corner of Mill and Edison streets on Friday, March 3, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin confirmed. Although initial details remained sketchy, all agreed that Seabrooks was in a mental health crisis. Officers initially responded to a report of an emotionally distu…

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by Jerry DeMarco