Attorney General’s Supersession
On March 27, 2023, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that his Office would supersede the Paterson Police Department, and assume control of all police functions, including internal affairs investigations, effective immediately. Isa Abbassi, a twenty-five-year veteran of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and its current Chief of Strategic Initiatives, will become the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Paterson Police Department in May, having been appointed to that position by Attorney General Platkin. In the interim, the department the Department will be overseen by Major Frederick P. Fife of the New Jersey State Police (NJSP), as the Interim Officer-in-Charge. Major Fife will be joined by Captain Jafca Mandziuk also of the NJSP, and Assistant Attorney General Joseph Walsh, as well as other members of the Department of Law and Public Safety.
Message From Attorney General Platkin
Due to a series of events and concerns relating to the Paterson Police Department, there is a crisis of confidence in law enforcement in the City of Paterson. People throughout Paterson deserve a public safety system that protects and serves all members of its community, just as the members of the Paterson Police Department deserve adequate resources, support, and innovation from their leadership. I am committed to restoring public confidence in the Paterson Police Department, which includes providing the officers on the force the support, resources, supervision, and training they need to be an exemplary police department.
This change in leadership will not quell the strife in the City of Paterson overnight, it will not immediately restore public confidence that the police are committed to providing every resident of Paterson with fair, just, and effective public safety. Nor will it address the concerns of officers asked to do a hard and dangerous job in a community that—after years of fiscal challenges and a revolving door of police leadership—has lost faith in its police department, making the jobs of those officers even more difficult. Rather, the actions taken by my office represent a pledge to the residents and officers of Paterson that the State of New Jersey is committed to the safety and success of the entire Paterson Community. Exercising control over the police department and bringing in nationally recognized police leadership for the department is the first step of a process towards a safer and more just City of Paterson.
This is the beginning of a long journey. But we are going to be here for the long haul to provide the Police Department with the tools, resources, training, and leadership needed to deliver critical services to the people of Paterson. And I know that one day in the not too distant future the Paterson Police Department will come out on the other side of this reformation as an example of excellence and innovation in policing and a source of pride for the residents and officers of Paterson.
