100+ NJ Cops Face Demotions After Exam Results Tossed

More than 100 police officers in two North Jersey cities could lose rank after their promotional exam scores were declared invalid.

In 2019, 31 police officers from Paterson and 75 police officers from Newark took the Police Sergeant examination, giving them an opportunity for promotion. In 2020, 15 officers in Newark and Paterson legally contested the exam, citing concerns of racial disparity in its last 10 questions.

A New Jersey appeals court upheld the challenge, therefore nullifying the scores of not only the 15 officers who filed the appeal, but all 106 high-ranking officers in both cities that took the exam. Some law enforcement officials said the questions had to do with attorney general guidelines and did not have to do with race. It's unclear exactly what the test questions were at this time.

Now, any promotions given to these officers as a result of the exam are considered "conditional," according to the NJ Civil Service Commission.

The exam was administered statewide; however, because only officers from Newark and Paterson contested the exam, only officers from those jurisdictions had their scores nullified, officials said.

Police officers, politicians, and residents are now up in arms, saying that demotions of this degree would not only upend the lives of these officers but also compromise public safety.

Paterson Police Sergeant Jose Piri Torres, who is among the officers at risk of losing his rank, says, “to take away the hard-earned stripes of those who sacrificed for Paterson would be a disservice to this City.”

Paterson PBA President Angel Jimenez called the Civil Service Commission’s decision to nullify scores “punitive” and said that rather than helping minorities get promoted, it’s taking promotions away from them instead.

“I’ve had conversations with some officials that claim (the Civil Service Commission) was just trying to help minorities, but as you can see in this room, half of the officers affected are minorities,” Jimenez said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We just feel that enough is enough. We have to take action. We can not allow the Civil Service (Commission) to put their fingers on the scales of these exams, and affect our lives, and also affect the safety of our community.”

The officers affected will be given the opportunity to take a new version of the test in February. Typically, officers are given six months to prepare for the exam, but they’re being given less than half that time to study for the retake.

If the officers do not pass the retake, many will be demoted to entry-level ranks.

“If there is a problem with the exam, it should be either everyone in the whole state who has to retake it, or only the 15 original appellants,” said police union attorney Valerie Palmer. “This is catastrophic. It will cause a complete breakdown in the chain of command in two of the state’s biggest cities, and it simply cannot be allowed to happen.”

Palmer said that the Paterson PBA has filed an appeal, calling the Commission’s nullification decision “arbitrary and capricious, and against the weight of substantial evidence.”

The Paterson PBA has also filed for a “pause” with the Civil Service Commission regarding the retake until New Jersey courts can make a decision on the appeal.

“I stand in solidarity with our police department because the Civil Service Commission's decision cannot stand,” Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said. “It would upend the organization, disrupt our department, and potentially, compromise public safety in Paterson. We are united in this fight and justice will prevail.”