Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio Retires

Newark police, pictured in this file photo, targeted African-Americans in nearly three out of every four stops made under the city police department's stop-and-frisk program over the first four months of 2014, according to recently released data. (Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger )

NEWARK — Newark's controversial stop-and-frisk program continues to disproportionately target blacks, according to recent data, leading critics to say the practice is likely to be the focus of a federal monitor that is expected to be appointed.

According to figures released by the Police Department, the overall number of stops in the first four months of 2014, are down slightly, to an average of 1,714 a month from 2,093 in the last six months of 2013.

But 73 percent of those stopped were black, a familiar pattern the American Civil Liberties Union calls alarming, since blacks comprise 52 percent of the city’s population.

In addition, the data showed that only 22 percent of those targeted in 2014 were arrested or issued a citation, a slight dip from the 25 percent stopped in the previous six months.

"We’re still seeing the same trends, and specifically, still seeing several disturbing patterns that raise constitutional red flags," said Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU’s New Jersey chapter.

Police department officials could not be reached for comment.

A variety of sources have said in recent months that the Justice Department is poised to disclose the results of a years-long investigation into the police department. It was prompted by a 2010 ACLU report that accused the force of systematically denying civilian complaints, failing to properly respond to lawsuits and running a deeply dysfunctional internal affairs system.

Earlier this week, Mayor Ras Baraka confirmed that a monitor may be appointed to oversee a number of changes in the force’s policies, and said the city would cooperate. The Star-Ledger reported in February that the Justice Department intended to appoint a monitor.

It is unclear whether the stop-and-frisk program will be among the policies to fall under the monitor’s cross hairs, although Baraka is not the only one welcoming the chance to begin comprehensive changes in the city’s approach to public safety as it battles its highest rates of crime and violence in decades.

"I look forward to a monitor coming in here," James Stewart Jr., president of the city’s police union, said. "I just think the city is run ineptly in so many facets, and I want a monitor to come in and see that too."

Stewart cited what he considers flaws in the department’s internal trial system, with an emphasis on arrests as a metric for officer success, and what he called "excessive discipline" handed down for dress-code violations and other minor missteps, which he said distracts officers from their responsibilities on the streets.

"We’re afraid to get out of our car without our hat on, or we’re going to get disciplined," he said.

The ACLU has also been critical of the police department’s compliance with a program instituted by former Police Director Samuel Demaio last year that required officials to post timely monthly reports on the stop-and-frisk program, including information on what prompts stops and what kind of contraband is seized as a result.

"We still don’t know why people are being stopped in the first place, we still don’t know what individuals are being charged with once they do get a ticket and once they are arrested, and we still don’t know what police are finding from these stop and frisks," Ofer said. "We still only have a partial picture."

Ofer added that the organization plans to push for measures that will increase oversight of the department beyond the tenure of a federal monitor, which typically lasts from five to 10 years.

He said his organization is planning to push for the creation of a civilian complaint review board that would play a role in disciplining officers accused of misconduct.

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