Civilian Oversight at Essex County Jail Public Comment 07/26/2019

My comments to the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders about a civilian oversight committee for Essex County Jail like the one set forth by ACLU of New Jersey. This is basically what I said at public comment and…

Civilian Oversight at Essex County Jail Public Comment 09/11/2019

I am here again to speak about the…

Public Comment 01/07/2020

A few questions on various topics, all requesting a formal response.

The Star Ledger reported this week that two ECCF guards were charged with falsifying records after video evidence showed they hadn't done the rounds they reported doing. This highlights why…

Civilian Oversight at Essex County Jail Public Comment 11/06/2019

Since we’ll have time later to discuss the civilian task force ordinance itself I wanted to raise a few other points now.

Public Comment 9/9/2020

Item K37 is to approve spending to purchase new firearms for the Department of Corrections. We as residents have been calling to defund the police, and really the entire mass incarceration apparatus, reflecting a desire to shift that spending to proactively address the root causes of…

Civilian Oversight at Essex County Jail Public Comment 11/13/2019

I’m happy to be able to say that I got responses to my questions from Oct 23 this week. Thank you to Freeholder President Gill and the Freeholder staff for ensuring that I got responses. I’m sad to say that they’re…

Public Comment 7/9/2020

On Resolution 37 the text is now pulled down, so I hope it’s still on the agenda because it’s important that we all affirm, at all levels of government, society, and culture that Black Lives Matter. It’s a big driver in my pushing for the ECCF Task Force, as well as the work around the…

Civilian Oversight at Essex County Jail Public Comment 10/23/2019

Thank you to the Freeholders and Administration for putting forward an ordinance that is a first step in the process of instituting Civilian Oversight of the County Jail. I have some questions that I would appreciate responses to so as to better inform the…