TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey’s comptroller has released his office’s findings following an investigation of a 2021 police conference in Atlantic City, where he says speakers glorified violence and expressed ideas that can be considered racist or misogynistic.
Police from all over the country attended the conference, which was run by a New Jersey-based company called Street Cop Training.
“What we found was really disturbing,” said New Jersey Comptroller Kevin Walsh. He says instructors from the group were teaching unconstitutional police practices, including how to prolong a traffic stop.
“They denigrated women and racial and ethnic minorities,” he said. “They promoted a warrior mentality and glorified violence. They belittled internal affairs. They dehumanized civilians.”
Read the full report
Out of the more than 1,000 officers in attendance at this conference, 240 of them were from New Jersey. “Taxpayers paid for a training that normalized discriminatory and harassing behavior by public servants who are supposed to be held to very high standards,” Walsh said.
“These kinds of attitudes and behaviors inevitably lead to violations of constitutional rights, to discrimination, and to lawsuits. And you, the taxpayers of New Jersey, pick up the tab.”
One of the big problems, Walsh says, is that private post-academy police training is an unregulated free-for-all.
“As a result, companies like Street Cop [Training] can rent a room, charge officers or their departments to attend, and teach whatever they want,” he said. In the report, Walsh’s office recommends the state legislature institute a licensing program for private law enforcement training companies.
KYW Newsradio reached out to Street Cop Training officials for comment on the report, but have yet to receive a response.