TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey’s Attorney General has mandated retraining for up to 240 police officers who attended a controversial conference in 2021, emphasizing the state’s dedication to upholding lawful and ethical police practices.
This decision comes after the officers participated in the 2021 Street Cop Training conference in Atlantic City, which was criticized for promoting unconstitutional police tactics and glorifying violence. The retraining, scheduled for March, aims to address these issues by focusing on constitutional rights, New Jersey discrimination laws, and proper engagement with survivors of law enforcement shootings.
The controversy centers on the Street Cop Training conference, which faced scrutiny from the New Jersey Comptroller’s office for its questionable content. The mandated retraining seeks to correct the potentially harmful teachings from that conference. Meanwhile, the Street Cop Training company, the organizer of the criticized event, has filed for bankruptcy, reportedly owing $249,000 to a resort in Orlando for a planned 2024 conference. This financial distress follows an investigation that brought to light past disciplinary actions against the company’s founder.
The state has yet to release the names or jurisdictions of the officers required to undergo retraining. Approximately 990 law enforcement officers nationwide attended the contentious conference, with about 240 from New Jersey, representing agencies from various levels of government. The New Jersey Comptroller’s office confirmed that at least $75,000 in public funds were used to send officers to this event, not including additional costs related to paid time off or training days.