The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that parts of an internal affairs report concerning a Jersey City police lieutenant who discharged a shotgun during a domestic dispute must be made available to the public.
In a unanimous decision made on Monday, the state’s highest court affirmed that the public’s right to access police internal affairs documents takes precedence over the privacy rights of officers involved, even in cases where their criminal records have been expunged.
This ruling follows an incident in August 2019, where a Jersey City police lieutenant, under the influence of alcohol during a social gathering, fired a shotgun at his girlfriend and her son amid an argument.
As a result of his actions, the officer faced charges of terroristic threats and unlawful possession of a weapon.
He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and participated in a pretrial intervention program for one year.
The Jersey City Police Department suspended him for 90 days as a consequence of the internal investigation.
Seeking to promote public transparency, States Newsroom, which publishes the New Jersey Monitor, requested access to the lieutenant’s internal affairs report based on the common law right of access.
This legal standard permits citizens to obtain government records when public interest in disclosure surpasses the necessity for confidentiality.
However, Jersey City officials initially denied the request, arguing that the internal affairs policy and the expungement of the lieutenant’s criminal record warranted confidentiality.
The New Jersey Supreme Court rejected this rationale, clarifying that while expungement laws aim to allow individuals to start fresh, they do not create absolute silences surrounding the misconduct of public officials.
Justice Rachel Wainer Apter noted, “Although our expungement statute generally permits a person whose record has been expunged to misrepresent his past, it does not impose a regime of silence on those who know the truth.”
The court underscored that internal affairs reports, while containing sensitive information, are not automatically exempt from public scrutiny.
Following the ruling, the justices directed the trial court to remove any details from the report that would disclose the specifics of the lieutenant’s expunged case.
Once edited to redact the sensitive information, the court will reassess whether public interest in knowing about police misconduct outweighs the rationale for confidentiality.
This determination will take place in the trial court, which will now have the responsibility of redacting the internal affairs report for public access.
This case is significant as it addresses how Jersey City managed the actions of one of its own officers in a domestic violence scenario involving firearms.
States Newsroom was represented in court by CJ Griffin, a public records lawyer from Pashman Stein Walder Hayden.
Griffin commented on the Supreme Court’s decision, stating, “Today’s decision is another important ruling from our Supreme Court that ensures the public has access to information about police misconduct.
This underscores that the transparency promised by the court’s ruling in Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office remains intact, and we will continue to learn about officer conduct, even when criminal records have been expunged.”
The Jersey City Police Department has not yet responded to requests for additional comments on the ruling.
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