N.J. court cites brief signed by Club, NPCJI in opening police disciplinary records

A New Jersey appeals court last week set a precedent strengthening the public’s right of access to police disciplinary records in a case in which the National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute supported The Trentonian newspaper's request.

The New Jersey Appellate Division sided with The Trentonian by ruling Feb. 13 that a trial judge had prematurely denied the newspaper’s request for internal affairs records related to three indicted police officers. The case is 21st Century Media v. Ewing Township.

The appeals court, in summarizing The Trentonian's position in seeking access to the records, noted that the friend-of-the-court brief submitted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on behalf of 20 news organizations, including the Club and the NPCJI, added that investigation and reporting on the records "help the public evaluate and reform oversight boards."

"A key part of a journalist's job is oversight of our public agencies, including the police," NPC President Emily Wilkins said. "I am glad The New Jersey Appellate Division reaffirmed our role and grateful to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for leading this amicus brief."

The officers were indicted in federal court following their January 2018 arrest of a Black teenager. Body camera footage showed an officer stomping and kicking snow in the teenager’s face while he was on the ground handcuffed.

The newspaper sought any internal affairs reports on the three officers that preceded the incident, but the trial court dismissed the lawsuit. The appeals court reversed that decision, ordering police to send the documents to the court.

The court will then review the records and decide whether they should be released after it considers whether they will help the public better understand and evaluate police misconduct and whether any countervailing interests warrant keeping them under wraps.