NJ police brutality: AG targets rogue cops after 'Protecting the Shield' investigation

TRENTON - Rogue cops remain in the crosshairs of New Jersey's top cop and state legislators.

State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told state senators that his office is working to identify "outliers" among New Jersey police officers and address issues raised by "Protecting the Shield," a 19-part Asbury Park Press series that exposed gaps in the state's system for police accountability, including $42 million in taxpayer funds spent to hush allegations of police abuse in often-obscured settlements and more than 100 municipal departments that didn't have a policy for random drug testing.

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"We're working diligently to address those issues raised in that article and other issues through some of our initiatives," Grewal said in response to a question from State Sen. Linda R. Greenstein, D-Middlesex, mentioning the series.

Grewal spoke Tuesday before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

State Sen. Declan J. O'Scanlon Jr., R-Monmouth said he's working to address "confidentiality of agreements and settlements."

"I think the public does have a right to see more of the final dispensation of some of the complaints and the issues that happen," O'Scanlon said at the committee hearing, also noting the need to be fair to police officers.

O'Scanlon thanked the attorney general for his swift response to "Protecting the Shield."

"I was very happy to see your almost immediate response when I reached out to you about it, I'm sure other people did too, with your directives instituting drug testing and the early warning system," O'Scanlon said. "I think they were your second and third directives, so that shows the level of emphasis and import that you put on these."

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Grewal detailed for senators directives his office rolled out after the series was published, including mandatory random drug testing for every police department in the state. Grewal also required police departments to implement a 14-point early warning system that triggers remedial action for flagged officers and requires the department to inform the county prosecutor's office about the issue and the plan to correct it.

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"Our hope is by mandating this across the state, we don't miss a red flag or a series of red flags," Grewal told senators about the early warning systems. "And we can intervene not just to keep the public safe, but to keep law enforcement safe and to keep that officer safe and get that officer help or treatment that he may need."

Andrew Ford: @AndrewFordNews; 732-643-4281; aford3@gannettnj.com