N.J. attorney general launches new police use-of-force website with officers’ names and race data
State prosecutors also said Tuesday that a man who was fatally shot by police in Atlantic County on Monday afternoon had first stolen an officer's vehicle.
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The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday launched a new website that catalogs police use of force in the state with details including the officer’s name and the age, race, and gender of the person against whom force was used.
The website, includes reports completed between Oct. 1 of last year and Feb. 28, has information on whether injuries were sustained and if so, what type; the circumstances that led to the use of force; and the type of force used.
The data can be sorted by individual police departments or agencies. These details provide the most comprehensive statewide data on police use of force anywhere in the country, state prosecutors said.
Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal launched the website as a way to allow the state — and the public — to monitor and analyze use-of-force trends, including racial disparities. The portal was part of the state’s new use-of-force policy that mandates de-escalation training for all 38,000 law enforcement officers in New Jersey and calls for the use of force as a last resort.
“We are committed to making New Jersey a national leader on policing reform, and our Use of Force Dashboard is a central piece of that effort,” Grewal said in a statement. “... We recognize that true accountability is impossible without transparency, and we want to learn how we can make our Use of Force Dashboard as transparent and accessible as possible.”
The data show that over five months, officers used force against 3,677 people in the state. Of those, 1,610 were Black; 1,046 were white; 646 were Hispanic; 40 were of Asian descent; and the remainder, or 335 people, did not have their race noted or were of two or more races.
Most people were not injured. Among the injuries, the numbers show, 629 people suffered abrasions, lacerations, or punctures; 351 complained of pain; 196 were bruised; 55 had other unspecified injuries; 20 suffered chest pain or shortness of breath; 12 were shot; seven had fractures or dislocations; and one person suffered a concussion.
The dashboard did not specify whether anyone died. A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said the office intends to update the website with this information in the future.
» READ MORE: N.J. unveils statewide police use-of-force policy that emphasizes de-escalation
Visitors to the dashboard are encouraged to submit feedback about the site as state officials work to improve it.
All law enforcement officers in New Jersey are required to submit detailed information about every time they use force or witness it within 24 hours of the incident.
The unveiling of the website comes at a time of rising concern about police brutality after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year. And it came a day after a man was fatally shot by police in Atlantic County after he stole a police vehicle.
He was identified Tuesday afternoon as Roy K. Jackel Jr., 41, of Cape May Court House.
The shooting occurred shortly before 3 p.m. in Buena Vista Township after an officer with the nearby Franklin Township Police Department in Gloucester County had an encounter with Jackel after he drove a short distance in the vehicle and then stopped, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Officers in Franklin Township, which assists the State Police in patrolling Buena Vista, had initially come across the man after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident at Cumberland and Tuckahoe Roads, the Attorney General’s Office said.
After one officer left his vehicle, Jackel hopped inside the police car and drove away, authorities said. He stopped a short distance away on East Oak Road and was shot and killed.
» READ MORE: N.J. authorities investigating after officer reportedly shoots person in Atlantic County
The office said the investigation was ongoing and no further information would be released at this time.
The Attorney General’s Office oversees the county prosecutor offices in the state as well as all police departments. It investigates all deaths in the state that occur during an encounter with an on-duty law enforcement officer.