Najee Seabrooks case full coverage: From the Paterson police shooting, to Platkin takeover
Najee Seabrooks, 31, was a violence intervention specialist with the Paterson Healing Collective. He was fatally shot by Paterson police after a four-hour standoff in a Mill Street apartment on Friday, March 3.
Seabrooks' death sparked outrage in Paterson and multiple demonstrations and vigils took place in the days after his death. Seabrooks was remembered for his work with the Healing Collective, an initiative that aims to help victims of shooting and other traumas and is a program of St. Joseph's University Medical Center.
The office of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin is overseeing an investigation into Seabrooks' death. On March 16, it released hours of body-worn police video and some of the 911 calls Seabrooks and others made March 3.
Advocates, including members of the Healing Collective, Paterson's Black Lives Matter organization and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, called for a federal probe in the case. In addition, in a March 10 editorial, NorthJersey.com and The Record called for an intervention for the Paterson Police Department, which has been plagued by scandals and a lack of resources for much of the last decade.
Seabrooks was laid to rest on March 18, and calls for action from members of Paterson's activist community continued.
On Monday, March 27, Platkin announced that his office was immediately taking day-to-day operational control of the Paterson Police Department.
Here is a complete look at NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey's coverage of the Seabrooks case:
Paterson's community policing division is changing how it goes about business
With a revised mission on the horizon, Paterson’s community policing division is looking to open a second base of operations in the city’s Northside neighborhood in the 1st Ward, officials announced. Isa Abbassi, whom the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office appointed as officer-in-charge, has said he wants to redefine community policing in the city.
Lawyers for Najee Seabrooks family tell Paterson not to destroy records. Here's why
The lawyers representing Najee Seabrooks’ family in an impending wrongful death lawsuit against Paterson have demanded that the city not destroy any possible evidence in the case. The lawyers sent that demand as part of a formal legal notice about the likely litigation.
Memorial walk and food distribution event in honor of Najee Seabrooks held in Paterson
The Paterson Healing Collective held a memorial walk and food distribution event in Paterson's 4th Ward on June 1 in honor of Najee Seabrooks.
Paterson Healing Collective launches scholarship to honor Najee Seabrooks
The Paterson Healing Collective is raising money for a scholarship fund honoring Najee Seabrooks, who was shot and killed by police on March 3.
'I can effect change': Abbassi pledges to listen to Paterson voices in police takeover
Isa Abbassi took command of the city Police Department, promising to bring change to a law enforcement agency beset by longstanding problems, which culminated in the recent state takeover.
Why activists are taking a 'wait-and-see' approach on Paterson Police Department takeover
In a city where activists often demand quick results, several community leaders who spoke during a recent meeting with Attorney General Matthew Platkin expressed willingness to be patient with the state’s takeover of the Police Department.
Video: New Jersey Attorney General speaks at community meeting in Paterson
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin speaks at a meeting with community members at St. Luke Baptist Church in Paterson on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Paterson residents tell state Attorney General they don’t trust city’s police department
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin spent almost four hours at a city church Thursday night listening to Paterson residents vent their frustrations about the municipal police department. Platkin conducted his “listening session” 39 days after his office seized control of the city police department amid what he called the community’s “crisis of confidence” in its cops.
This is what Paterson police's new top cop has planned for troubled department
Isa Abbassi — the man picked as officer-in-charge under the state takeover of the troubled Paterson Police Department — said he took the job because he saw it as “an opportunity to make a change.” But that change won’t happen overnight, he cautioned. “This is going to take a long time,” said Abbassi, who recently retired as the New York Police Department’s chief of strategic initiatives as part of his move to Paterson. “I’m here for the long haul.”
Sayegh: These new Paterson police officers can make a difference
In an op-ed Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh talks about his priority of hiring new police officers to bring the Paterson Police Department to its fullest possible strength.
Exclusive: NJ Attorney General first considered Paterson police takeover in 2022
Attorney General Matthew Platkin started planning his state takeover of the city police department last fall by launching a secret search for someone to put in charge, he told Paterson Press.
Advocates make renewed call for U.S. Justice Department to investigate Paterson Police Department
In a letter sent to the Justice Department, a constellation of New Jersey advocacy groups urged U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland to investigate the Paterson Police Department following a string of troubling news reports and prosecutions against the local agency and some of its officers, which culminated most recently in the fatal shooting of anti-violence activist Najee Seabrooks on March 3.
The NJ attorney general plans a Paterson community forum — without the city's new top cop
The New Jersey attorney general has scheduled his first Paterson community meeting since the state’s March 27 takeover of the city Police Department, but officials said the man who will be in charge of the force would not take part.
After state takeover of department, Paterson hires 29 new police recruits
Less than a month after the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office took control of Paterson police operations, city officials hired 29 new recruits to join the troubled department.
How much money will Paterson Police Department get under attorney general's takeover?
City officials are asking for millions of dollars in additional state aid to cover possible expenses stemming from New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s takeover of the Paterson Police Department.
Analysis: How does chaos in Paterson affect Andre Sayegh's political future?
With turmoil in Paterson after Najee Seabrooks' death and the takeover of the police, what will Andre Sayegh's political future hold?
Killing of Najee Seabrooks exacerbated tensions between cops and St. Joe's
A suicide-by-cop call March 21 was one of three instances in an eight-day span when St. Joseph's University Medical Central crisis team did not show.
An Easter message from the pulpit: 'We need to understand that love prevails'
Local ministers planned to use their pulpit on Easter to help Paterson churchgoers find peace in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of community worker Najee Seabrooks.
Paterson refuses to release recordings in Najee Seabrooks police shooting
Paterson's city law department refused to make public records from the fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks, including video and 911 calls.
NJ AG's control of Paterson police begins to be felt as command duties are shifted
The state takeover of the Paterson Police Department has produced two changes in the department’s command structure, including a shift in job duties for a captain who led nonfatal shooting investigations for the past 15 years. Capt. Patrick Murray, a 38-year street cop, was moved to the administrative role of chief of staff and executive officer, according to the Police Department’s revised table of organization.
In wake of fatal shooting of Najee Seabrooks, few attend Operation Ceasefire peace march
Fewer than 25 people joined in the city’s annual Operation Ceasefire peace march on April 1, a sparse showing that participants attributed to community anger over the recent police shooting of Najee Seabrooks.
Sayegh: Paterson will implement CompStat, civilian advisory board | Opinion
In an op-ed, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh announces that the Paterson Police Department would adopt CompStat crime data management and that his office intends to create a civilian advisory board to advise police on all manner of policy.
Paterson refuses to release recordings in Najee Seabrooks police shooting
The city’s law department on March 31 refused to make public extensive records from the fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks, including all 911 calls and body camera videos.
Seabrooks 'didn't die in vain': Healing Collective leader reflects on AG's takeover of PPD
The Paterson Healing Collective has been calling for major police reforms since the death of Najee Seabrooks, a PHC violence intervention specialist who was fatally shot by Paterson police on March 3 after an hours-long standoff after he barricaded himself in an apartment at 20 Mill St. in Paterson. NorthJersey.com visual journalist Michael Karas spoke with Liza Chowdhury, project director of the Paterson Healing Collective, a day after the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office seized control of the Paterson Police Department.
Paterson police meet with St. Joseph's staff on mental health 911 responses
Three days after the state takeover of the Paterson Police Department, the first planning meeting was held for a program designed to send mental health professionals with city cops to crisis scenes. Paterson secured a $550,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant for the so-called “Connect and Protect” initiative early last fall, and city officials spent several months ironing out a preliminary agreement on the use of the funding.
Charlie Stile: Platkin on Paterson: 'A major commitment' — and a major new test for NJ's AG
Platkin, resurrected last year as New Jersey’s 62nd attorney general, stunned New Jersey's political and law enforcement establishments by taking over the deeply dysfunctional Paterson Police Department in the wake of mounting public outrage over the March 3 police shooting of Najee Seabrooks.
Our view: Removing barriers was a good first step. There's more to do for Paterson police
Mr. Attorney General, you removed the physical barriers erected at police headquarters. Now comes the hard work — removing the real barriers that hold back the policing Paterson deserves.
Paterson ministers: Where are Mayor Sayegh and the City Council on Najee Seabrooks? | Opinion
In an op-ed, members of the Paterson clergy community write that they have been devastated by the loss of Najee Seabrooks, an important community leader with the Paterson Healing Collective in the effort to reduce gun violence in Paterson's neighborhoods and provide the necessary healing in its streets.
New allegations of police excessive force are under review in Paterson
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office confirmed that it is reviewing a mid-February encounter between Paterson police officers and teenagers in which social justice activists say a cop used excessive force against one of the juveniles. It was not clear whether state authorities had been investigating the incident before March 27, when Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that his office was taking control of the day-to-day operations of the Paterson Police Department.
Mike Kelly: If Paterson wants a new police force, it must look to Camden
Can Paterson become Camden? Not long ago, such a question seemed ridiculous. Not now, though. Once thought to be the poorest, most violent city in America and dubbed the nation’s “murder capital,” Camden is now regarded as a national model of police reform. Paterson, which has become the latest American community facing a policing crisis, may soon find itself gazing down the New Jersey Turnpike to Camden for help. In announcing a state takeover of Paterson’s police after years of corruption and questionable killings of residents, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin slipped in a possible telltale prediction of what is to come.
What will state's Police Department takeover mean for Paterson?
In a city numbed by frequent and often unfulfilled promises of law enforcement reforms, many wanted to hear additional details about the state’s Paterson Police Department takeover plan before they celebrated or condemned the intervention.
NJ AG takes control of daily operations of Paterson Police Department
In an announcement that stunned city officials and rank-and-file cops, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office seized control of the Paterson Police Department on March 27, taking over day-to-day law enforcement operations in the New Jersey's third-most-populous city. The move came three weeks after the death of Najee Seabrooks.
Mike Kelly: These tactics might have prevented Najee Seabrooks' death
Watching the police body camera videos of the death of Najee Seabrooks in Paterson raises an important question: Could cops have handled this tense standoff differently? The answer to that question is a resounding “yes,” according to a major study released in late March on a New Jersey-based pilot program that provides police with new tools — and a whole new strategy — when confronting emotionally distressed people such as Seabrooks.
Video: Paterson bids Najee Seabrooks farewell
The funeral service for Najee Seabrooks at Christian Fellowship Center in Paterson on Saturday, March 18. Seabrooks, a member of the violence intervention group the Paterson Healing Collective, was fatally shot by Paterson police after a standoff while he was barricaded inside an apartment.
Gallery: Paterson says goodbye to Najee Seabrooks
Hundreds attended a funeral service for Paterson's Najee Seabrooks on March 18.
Paterson says goodbye to Najee Seabrooks, activist killed in police shooting
Hundreds of mourners paid tribute to Najee Seabrooks at a March 18 funeral for the 31-year-old man whom activists hailed as a peacemaker killed by gunfire from Paterson police after a lengthy standoff.
Najee Seabrooks' mom could not coax him from bathroom standoff
In the early stages of their standoff with Najee Seabrooks, two Paterson police officers stepped aside in an apartment hallway and let the troubled man’s mother, Melissa Carter, speak with him through a closed bathroom door.
Mike Kelly: Najee Seabrooks' death is a tragedy on so many levels
Najee Seabrooks had a tragic death — one that is emblematic of the challenges facing Paterson and our country.
Video: Key moments in Najee Seabrooks Paterson fatal police shooting revealed by body cam
Body camera video captured the March 3 standoff between Paterson police and Najee Seabrooks that ended in Seabrook's fatal shooting. Throughout the footage, officers attempted to negotiate with Seabrooks who ultimately lunged at officers, armed with knives, and was shot.
Paterson police body-camera video from Najee Seabrooks shooting released by NJ AG's office
The state attorney general released Paterson police bodycam footage from the shooting of Najee Seabrooks, a specialist at the Paterson Healing Collective. After an hourslong standoff, Seabrooks charged out a bathroom in a Mill Street Apartment and was struck by a burst of five gunshots fired by two Paterson police officers. Those moments were captured in police body camera recordings made public on March 16.
Video: Criminal justice reform program director addresses Najee Seabrooks shooting
Yannick Wood, director of the Criminal Justice Reform program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, speaks at a March 16 press conference.
Gallery: Press conference in Paterson calls for justice for Najee Seabrooks
Advocates and activists held a March 16 to call for local, state and federal accountability in the fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks.
Opinion: This is why we want a federal investigation in the death of Najee Seabrooks
Just as they are investigating police departments in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee, the Department of Justice must do the same in Paterson.
What's it like to hear voices? NJ course aims to help police aid those in mental crisis
In February, the state Attorney General’s Office announced expansion of the ARRIVE Together program, which pairs plainclothes officers with mental health experts to respond in unmarked vehicles to certain 911 calls, setting up partnerships in more than two dozen municipalities across 11 counties.
Transcript: What Najee Seabrooks said in exclusive NorthJersey.com interview
We present a transcript of a July 2021 interview conducted by Michael Karas and Amy Newman, visual journalists for NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey, with Najee Seabrooks, a violence intervention specialist with the Paterson Healing Collective who was fatally shot by police on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Exclusive: Najee Seabrooks in his own words: 'Try to bring back some love' to Paterson
NorthJersey.com visual journalists Michael Karas and Amy Newman share an interview they conducted with Seabrooks in the summer of 2021, along with a selection of video clips from that interview, which was filmed for "Targeting Retaliation: Stopping the chain reaction of gun violence in Paterson," a NorthJersey.com and USA TODAY Network New Jersey documentary produced in 2022.
Najee Seabrooks: Did NJ’s 2020 directive on mental health cases prompt any change?
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office called for improvements in law enforcement encounters with people in mental health crisis in December 2020, almost 27 months before two Paterson police officers shot Najee Seabrooks. But it remains unclear what changes — if any — were made because of that directive.
Video: Call for justice for Najee Seabrooks during Paterson City Council meeting
Paterson Healing Collective's Liza Chowdhury talks at a City Council meeting March 14, 2023 about Najee Seabrooks, who was fatally shot by city police.
Turmoil engulfs Paterson City Council meeting as tensions rise over Najee Seabrooks death
As protesters voiced their outrage and frustration over the police fatal shooting of Najee Seabrooks, confrontations erupted among Paterson officials during a March 14 City Council meeting.
Feds urged to investigate Najee Seabrooks killing. Hospital asks why no call to crisis team
A Newark-based social justice group that includes former United States Attorney Paul Fishman and former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer Jr. among its board members is calling for federal authorities to investigate the Paterson Police Department in light of the Najee Seabrooks killing. Meanwhile, the top official at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center is questioning the way authorities responded to the 911 emergency call that resulted in the fatal police shooting of violence intervention specialist Najee Seabrooks.
Najee Seabrooks: Demonstrators rally at restaurant connected to cop
Several dozen people protesting the fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks converged March 10 on a restaurant owned by one of the cops involved in the incident, banging and kicking the business’ closed metal security gate.
Gallery: Rally held to demand justice for Najee Seabrooks in Paterson
After the fatal, police-involved shooting of Najee Seabrooks, a rally was held to demand justice on Friday, March 10.
Video: Protesters demand justice for Najee Seabrooks on Grand Street in Paterson
Protesters demanded justice for Najee Seabrooks in a rally on Grand Street in Paterson on Friday, March 10. Seabrooks was fatally shot by Paterson police.
After Najee Seabrooks' death, why are NJ bills for civilian review boards still stalled?
Efforts to create local civilian boards that would investigate allegations of police misconduct have stalled in the New Jersey Legislature for more than two years. Social justice activists assert the lack of progress on those reforms has sent a disturbing message of non-accountability to law enforcement officers. The inaction, they said, has perpetuated problems that they claim have resulted in such incidents like the recent fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks in Paterson.
Our view: Can Najee Seabrooks' fatal shooting be the moment to change Paterson's police?
As Paterson continues to grieve the loss of Najee Seabrooks — as it continues to grapple with crime and as its police department grapples with how to move forward — we can only hope his lasting legacy will be one of meaningful change for a city so desperately in need of a new beginning.
Lawyer for Paterson cops who shot Najee Seabrooks says they tried to help him
A lawyer advising the Paterson police officers involved in the fatal shooting of violence intervention specialist Najee Seabrooks said March 9 that he was confident the New Jersey Attorney’s Office would clear them of any wrongdoing.
NJ Attorney General releases names of officers who fatally shot Najee Seabrooks
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office on March 8 released the names of the Paterson police officers involved in the fatal shooting of violence intervention specialist Najee Seabrooks.
Gallery: Rally held to honor Najee Seabrooks in Paterson
More than 250 people participated in a March 7 rally to honor the memory of Najee Seabrooks.
Video: Hundreds gather for Najee Seabrooks rally in Paterson
Over 250 people attended a rally for Najee Seabrooks after he was fatally shot by Paterson police while he was barricaded inside a Mill Street apartment.
Najee Seabrooks: What the Paterson Healing Collective's director said in his memory
Liza Chowdhury, the project director for the Paterson Healing Collective, spoke at a vigil on March 7 and remembered Seabrooks' smile and enthusiasm for the work he was doing to help victims of trauma in Paterson.
Najee Seabrooks’ death is latest controversy over police role in mental health crises
Earlier cases in Paterson — the deaths of Saulo Del Rosario and Jameek Lowery — included similar challenges at the intersection of policing and mental health.
Najee Seabrooks rally draws more than 250 after fatal police-involved shooting in Paterson
With a vigil, a rally and a march, more than 250 protesters expressed their outrage on the night of Tuesday, March 7 over the fatal police shooting of violence intervention specialist Najee Seabrooks.
Anger, frustration over shooting grow as family member faces new hardship
While mourning the loss of her son in the Friday, March 3 Paterson police-involved fatal shooting, Najee Seabrooks’ mother became the victim of another calamity early Monday morning when a fire badly damaged her home.
Paterson fatal shooting: New details emerge; BLM demands restructure of police department
On March 4, social justice activists called for authorities to release immediately police body camera recordings of the incident so that the public would know what happened. Najee Seabrooks’ death prompted the city’s Black Lives Matter group on Saturday to call for the restructuring of the Paterson police department.
Paterson violence intervention activist killed in police shooting; AG investigating
Najee Seabrooks, a violence intervention specialist with the Paterson Healing Collective, was fatally shot by a city police officer on Friday afternoon, March 3 after a five-hour standoff while he was barricaded inside his home.
Paterson Press and NorthJersey.com staff who have led this coverage
From Paterson Press:
Joe Malinconico, editor
Darren Tobia, contributing writer
From NorthJersey.com:
Ed Forbes, senior director for news and engagement
Mike Kelly, columnist
Charlie Stile, columnist
Michael Karas, visual journalist
Amy Newman, former visual journalist
Sean Oates, senior director for multimedia
Michael V. Pettigano, video producer
Paul Wood Jr., video producer
Miguel Fernandez, video producer
Ashley Balcerzak, staff writer
Tariq Zehawi, visual journalist
Nicholas Katzban, staff writer
Additional editing support was provided by Dan Sforza, James O'Neill, Joshua Jongsma, Alex Nussbaum, John Connolly, Scott Muller and Debra Waldeyer.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Najee Seabrooks: Full coverage of fatal Paterson police shooting
