DOJ and New Jersey US Attorney's office open investigation into the City of Trenton and its police department focusing on use of excessive force

The Justice Department and the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey have opened an investigation into the Trenton Police Department and the City of Trenton that will focus on the use of excessive force and unlawful stops, searches and arrests, officials announced Tuesday.

The pattern-or-practice investigation was spurred after a thorough review of court records, statistics, media reports, body-worn camera footage and instances of what Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke called "problematic uses of force" for minor traffic violations.

"We reviewed information suggesting that officers may have unnecessarily escalated situations with Trenton residents, resulting in problematic uses of force including against people experiencing mental health crises," Clarke said at a news conference.

"We've also reviewed information suggesting that officers may have routinely stopped pedestrians and vehicles to conduct warrantless searches and arrest without a sufficient legal basis. And in some cases, pedestrian and vehicle stops resulted in police department officers using force sometimes causing injuries to the individuals involved."

US Attorney for the District of New Jersey Phillip Sellinger said they reviewed numerous reports of Trenton police officers using excessive force and violating constitutional rights.

Those instances included ones where excessive force was used on people who were complying with officers and where force was used as retaliation on bystanders who were filming interactions involving officers, Sellinger said.

"There are numerous reports that Trenton Police Department officers routinely conduct stops and searches without any justifiable reason. No warrant, no probable cause. Just stop and search, oftentimes of minority residents," Sellinger said. "At times these problematic stops escalated into problematic arrests, in some instances, because the person being stopped simply wanted to know why."