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A4241
ASSEMBLY, No. 4241
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires police misconduct training course be
included in police basic training curriculum.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning basic training for police officers,
supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.1961, c.56.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� The Legislature find
and declares:
����
(1)�� The
highest priority of New Jersey�s law enforcement officers is to safeguard the
life, dignity, and liberty of all persons, without prejudice toward anyone.
���� (2)��
Law
enforcement officers shall be guided by the principle of reverence for human
life in all investigative, enforcement, and other contacts between officers and
members of the public.
���� (3)�� Law
enforcement officers have a moral, ethical, and constitutional obligation to
protect and serve the citizens of this State, regardless of race or ethnicity,
sexual and gender identities, mental and physical disabilities, and religious
beliefs.
���� (3)�� The injury
and death of unarmed African American men and women, and other people of color,
due to police brutality and excessive use of force violates a law enforcement
officer�s most basic obligation towards the citizens of this State.
���� (4)�� Not only
have the communities of the victims of police misconduct suffered, but these
incidents continue to inflict intergenerational harm and trauma to families.�
���� (5)�� Police
misconduct has sparked protests in all 50 states and many countries around the
world.
���� (6)�� Far too
many individuals have sustained severe injury or died as a result of the
illegal actions and mistakes of law enforcement officers.
���� (7)�� On July
17, 2014, Eric Garner, a 43 year-old African American man, died as a result of
an illegal chokehold administered by a law enforcement officer attempting to
arrest Garner for allegedly selling cigarettes.
���� (8)�� On April
12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25 year-old African American man, died as
a result of severe spinal cord injuries sustained while being transported
without a seatbelt in a police van after being wrongfully arrested for the
legal possession of a knife.
���� (9)��
On
March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26 year-old African American woman, was shot
to death in her sleep by police when they raided her home.
���� (10) On May 23, 2020,
Maurice Gordon, a 28 year-old unarmed African American man,
was killed in New Jersey after being pulled over for allegedly speeding.
���� (11) On May 25, 2020, George
Floyd, a 46 year-old unarmed African American man, died after being pinned down
by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota; his alleged offense was using
a counterfeit $20 bill.
���� (12) On June 19, 2022, Randy
Cox, a 36 year-old African American man, was partially paralyzed as a result of
injuries sustained while being transported without a seat belt in the back of a
police van.
���� (13) In addition, many any
other lives have been negatively impacted or cut short as a result of police
misconduct.�
���� (14) The purpose
of this act is to educate law enforcement officers regarding the dangers and
consequences of improper or illegal police practices by modifying the basic
training curriculum to instruct recruits on police misconduct using real life
examples and case studies to educate recruits regarding these tragic events and
their impact on victims, families, communities, and law enforcement practices
nationwide.
���� b.��� The Police Training
Commission shall include in the basic training course curriculum a modified
police misconduct training course developed or identified pursuant to
subsection c. of this section.
���� c.���� The Police Training
Commission shall develop or identify course materials concerning misconduct in
policing.� The Police Training Commission shall include these course materials
in the basic training course curriculum for law enforcement officers.� Successful
completion of the police misconduct training course shall provide a law
enforcement officer with a total of three credits towards the total credit
requirement of the basic training curriculum.� The police misconduct training
course shall include, but not be limited to, the following subjects:
���� (1)�� analysis and discussion
of real life examples of the
injury or death of unarmed African
American men and women, and other people of color, due to police brutality and
excessive use of force by law enforcement and how those tragic events could
have been avoided;
���� (2)�� policing
in the age of smartphones, including how smartphones have aided citizens in
proving instances of police misconduct, resulting in law enforcement officers
and police departments increasingly being held accountable for misconduct;
���� (3)�� a law
enforcement officer�s duty to intervene when witnessing law enforcement
misconduct, even if the misconduct is being perpetrated by a superior officer,
and using the murder of George Floyd as a case study;
���� (4)�� the
consequences of poor policing, using the murder of Breonna Taylor as a case
study to illustrate how mistakes may erode trust in the community and result in
civil unrest, which impacts law enforcement practices nationwide;
���� (5)�� understanding
the impact of bias in policing and the impact bias had in the murder of George
Floyd; and
���� (6)�� how law
enforcement officers should prepare for and cope with civil unrest and protests
resulting from police misconduct.
���� 2.��� Section 6 of P.L.1961,
c.56 (C.52:17B-71) is amended to read as follows:
���� 6.��� The commission shall
establish requisite standards for the training of law enforcement officers and
oversee the implementation of those standards.
���� The commission shall have the
authority:
���� a.���� To prescribe standards
for the approval and continuation of approval of schools at which police
training courses authorized by this act and in-service police training courses
shall be conducted, including but not limited to currently existing regional, county,
municipal, and police chief association police training schools or at which
basic training courses and in-service training courses shall be conducted for
State and county juvenile and adult correctional police officers and juvenile
detention officers;
���� b.��� To approve and issue
certificates of approval to these schools, to inspect the schools from time to
time, and to revoke any approval or certificate issued to the schools;
���� c.���� To prescribe the
curriculum, the minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, equipment
and facilities, and standards of operation for these schools and prescribe
psychological and psychiatric examinations for police recruits;
���� d.��� To prescribe minimum
qualifications for instructors at these schools and to certify, as qualified,
instructors for approved police training schools and to issue appropriate
certificates to the instructors;
instructors of the police misconduct
training course shall hold an advanced degree in sociology, or another related
field, from an accredited college or university;
���� e.���� To certify law
enforcement officers who have satisfactorily completed training programs and to
issue appropriate certificates to the officers;
���� f.���� To advise and consent
in the appointment of an administrator of police services by the Attorney
General pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-73);
���� g.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.1985, c.491)
���� h.��� To make rules and
regulations as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to accomplish the
purposes and objectives of this act;
���� i.���� To make a continuous
study of police training methods and training methods for law enforcement
officers and to consult and accept the cooperation of any recognized federal or
State law enforcement agency or educational institution;
���� j.���� To consult and
cooperate with universities, colleges, and institutes in the State for the
development of specialized courses of study for law enforcement officers in
police science
[
and
]
,
police administration
, and police misconduct
;
���� k.��� To consult and cooperate
with other departments and agencies of the State concerned with police training
or the training of law enforcement officers;
���� l.���� To participate in
unified programs and projects relating to police training and the training of
law enforcement officers sponsored by any federal, State, or other public or
private agency;
���� m.�� To perform other acts as
may be necessary or appropriate to carry out its functions and duties as set
forth in this act;
���� n.��� To extend the time limit
for satisfactory completion of police training programs or programs for the
training of law enforcement officers upon a finding that health, extraordinary
workload, or other factors have, singly or in combination, effected a delay in
the satisfactory completion of the training program;
���� o.� (1)� To furnish approved
schools, for inclusion in their regular police training courses and curriculum,
with information concerning the advisability of high-speed chases, the risk
caused by them, and the benefits resulting from them, and to include any other
relevant police training courses that will assist the commission in providing
efficient training;
���� (2)� To consult the New Jersey
State Police with respect to its administration of police training courses or
programs for the training of law enforcement officers to be certified as a Drug
Recognition Expert for detecting, identifying, and apprehending drug-impaired
motor vehicle operators, and to consult with the Cannabis Regulatory Commission
established by 31 of P.L.2019, c.153 (C.24:6I-24) with respect to any aspects
of the course curricula that focus on impairment from the use of cannabis items
as defined by section 3 of P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-33) or marijuana.
���� p.��� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2022, c.65)
���� q.��� To administer and
distribute the monies in the Law Enforcement Officers Training and Equipment
Fund established by section 9 of P.L.1996, c.115 (C.2C:43-3.3) and make rules
and regulations for the administration and distribution of the monies as may be
necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the fund was
established.
(cf: P.L.2022, c.65, s.8)
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the six month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the Police
Training Commission to develop or identify course materials concerning police
misconduct to be included in the police basic training curriculum.
���� The highest
priority of New Jersey�s law enforcement officers is to safeguard the life,
dignity, and liberty of all persons, without prejudice toward anyone.
�
Law enforcement officers are required to be guided by the principle of
reverence for human life in all investigative, enforcement, and other contacts
between officers and members of the public.
�
Law enforcement officers have a moral, ethical, and constitutional
obligation to protect and serve the citizens of this State, regardless of race
or ethnicity, sexual and gender identities, mental and physical disabilities,
and religious beliefs.
���� The injury and
death of unarmed African American men and women, and other people of color, due
to police brutality and excessive use of force violates a law enforcement
officer�s most basic obligation towards the citizens of this State.� Not only
have the communities of the victims of police misconduct suffered, but these
incidents continue to inflict intergenerational harm and trauma to families.�
Police misconduct has sparked protests in all 50 states and many countries
around the world.� Far too many individuals have sustained severe injury or
died as a result of the illegal actions and mistakes of law enforcement
officers.
���� The purpose of
this bill is to educate law enforcement officers regarding the dangers and
consequences of improper or illegal police practices by modifying the basic
training curriculum to instruct recruits on police misconduct using real life
examples and case studies to instruct recruits regarding these tragic events
and the impact these events have had on victims, families, communities, and law
enforcement practices nationwide.
���� Under the bill, the Police
Training Commission is to develop or identify course materials concerning
misconduct in policing to be taught by an instructor with an advanced degree in
sociology, or another related field, and included in the basic training course
for police officers.� The police misconduct training course is to provide three
credits towards the total credit requirement of the police basic training
curriculum.�
���� The police misconduct training
course is required to include, but not be limited to the following subjects:
(1) analysis and discussion of real life examples of the
injury
or death of unarmed African American men and women, and other people of color,
due to police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement and how
those tragic events could have been avoided; (2) policing in the age of
smartphones, including how smartphones have aided citizens in proving instances
of police misconduct, resulting in law enforcement officers and police
departments increasingly being held accountable for misconduct; (3) a law
enforcement officer�s duty to intervene when witnessing law enforcement
misconduct, even if the misconduct is being perpetrated by a superior officer,
and using the murder of George Floyd as a case study; (4) the consequences of
poor policing, using the murder of Breonna Taylor as a case study to illustrate
how mistakes may erode trust in the community and result in civil unrest, which
impacts law enforcement practices nationwide; (5) understanding the impact of
bias in policing and the impact bias had in the murder of George Floyd; and (6)
how law enforcement officers should prepare for and cope with civil unrest and
protests resulting from police misconduct.