The year 2020 is sure to dominate history books of the future with a pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands, followed by what some are calling an overdue racial reckoning concerning police work that will equal the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
In Trenton, add in an apparent out-of-control spree of public gun killings before the midpoint of the year. It’s had 15 murders so far, a number the Capital City often finishes the entire year with.
And one more thing: the riot. Of all the peaceful protests in New Jersey after the death of George Floyd – there have been over 100 - one of Trenton’s turned violent May 31, when marauders and looters descended on a few blocks downtown, smashed windows and set a police car on fire.
Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley discusses a shooting that injured two children, Wed. June 3, 2020. At left is Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora.(Photo by Brian McCarthy)
All of it leads to Police Director Sheilah Coley, who sometime in late April passed her one year mark at the helm of the department. In the past few weeks, police officers have been complaining about how she handled the May 31 violence, and some residents are grumbling online that she should step down or be fired.
Not going to happen, Coley said.
“I do not intend to abandon the city,” she told NJ Advance Media Monday. (And firing? Not going to happen either, Mayor Reed Gusciora said. She’s got his full support and confidence, he said.)
Coley, personally, has had a difficult few months too. She revealed for the first time she tested positive for the coronavirus in March, which she described as “frightening.” She had no symptoms, despite the positive test, she said.
She’s proud of how the department continues to navigate the pandemic, she said, from at times quarantining themselves (several officers also tested positive), to maintaining their vigilance during the uncertainty.
“We have great opportunities here, and we will work harder,” she said. She’s looking forward.
As for the May 31 riot, she bristles that the city was “caught with its pants down.”
Coley did acknowledge that the city suffered a lack of intelligence that day. As has been reported, the protest that day in the city was peaceful, even though a group of protesters split off from a main march and gathered at the Trenton Police Department. That went well too, with officers kneeling in solidarity with the crowd.
But, as Coley said, as darkness descended on the city, a smaller group, of about 100, were intent on violence and it erupted like a “flash mob.”
“We believe this was a planned event that we were not privy to,” she said. Investigations into the incident found planning on social media, she said. Even with all their policing partners, like the county sheriff’s office and New Jersey State Police, Coley’s not sure that 20 to 30 officers on every corner could have stopped the May 31 violence.
To be clear, she said: “People have a right to voice their opinions and exercise their rights, but they do not have the right to destroy property.”
Police have made over two dozen arrests from the incident, and federal authorities have charged a man caught on video who they allege was trying to set a city police car on fire that night. And the state police publicized photos recently of a man wanted for breaking windows at a business during the rioting.
The department has since put a plan into place for protests, and Coley said it’s working. This past Sunday, June 7, during another protest, officers intercepted intelligence that violent acts were planned and made arrests of people carrying “equipment.” She declined to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation, but said the protest was peaceful.
As for the violent crime in the city, and 15 homicides, Coley said police departments planned for pandemic crime, like anticipated domestic violence increases due to the stay-at-home order.
“But there’s no way we could have known that some of the other violence could have occurred,” she said.
What she knows is that 2019 was trending downward into 2020 for violent crime, and statistics kept by the state police show this. And she’s not sure if 2020 will be worse than 2019. But if it is, she will battle it. Coley said police are targeting some known offenders to combat the current scourge of violent crime, and some other “different techniques,” but did not offer specifics.
Coley said yes, crime during the pandemic has been tough – with 13 homicides, countless shootings and the recent wounding of a child by gunfire – but she spent over 25 years in Newark, and 2020 has been just a flash in the pan for her.
She’s a believer in judging someone by their body of their work, not a small sample in time.
As for social media, she said, she does not pay much attention, because if you embrace the positive there, you must embrace the negative.
“And I choose my time to focus on the job, and make residents as safe as I can,” she said.
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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During pandemic, Trenton’s had surge in killings and a riot. Its police director is staying to fight. - NJ.com
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