The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is pleased to announce the hosting of the “Police Use of Force and Officer Involved Shooting” presentation as the first implementation of New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s “21-County, 21st Century Community Policing Project”.
According to officials, this project aims to foster better relationships between law enforcement and the communities in which they serve and protect across the state of New Jersey. All of the twenty one county prosecutor’s offices in New Jersey will host a community event once a quarter to ensure that the leaders in the respective communities are granted opportunities to meet with local law enforcement agencies. These stakeholders in the community include local law enforcement, religious groups, civil rights organizations, high school superintendents, and college and university security personnel. The “21/21 Community Policing Project” will ultimately lead to more than 80 events across the state of New Jersey over the next year.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office on Apr. 17th the will be hosting this initial presentation at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy. The event will run from 1 pm to 4 pm. The speakers will be Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, First Assistant New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Matthew J. Troiano, Morris County Deputy Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr, and Morris County Department of Law & Public Safety Director Scott Di Giralomo. Over 150 stakeholders have been invited to attend including clergy, community leaders, elected officials, and local law enforcement.
The program will begin with introductory remarks from Prosecutor Knapp and First Assistant Attorney General Davenport. Following their remarks, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Troiano and Deputy Chief of Investigations Wilson will provide a review of the Attorney General’s Police Use of Force and Officer Involved Shootings directive. Morris County Department of Law & Public Safety Director Scott Di Giralomo and his staff, will then give a simulator demonstration of the VirTra Simulator Firearms Training System with CAP Troiano and DC Wilson. Morris County has one of the few such firearms simulators in the State of New Jersey. This video simulator is a very effective tool, enabling law enforcement officers to train for the most difficult real-world situations, which may result in the use of deadly force.
Attorney General Grewal said the following about the focus of the first quarter presentations, “Every day, law enforcement officers across New Jersey work closely with the members of the public to keep our streets safe. But that does not mean we cannot do better, and strengthening police-community relations in New Jersey is one of my top priorities. Despite the best efforts of many people, we know that divides exist in some instances between law enforcement and the communities they serve. In certain cases, these divides have been created by misunderstandings rooted in past events, and in other cases, they are based on misperceptions about law enforcement. The goal of our ‘21/21 Project’ is to bridge those divides by bringing law enforcement together with community leaders and stakeholders, encouraging dialogue on critical issues, and building relationships of trust that will continue after these meetings are adjourned.”
Prosecutor Knapp stated, “As President of the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, I stand with Attorney General Grewal supporting this essential county outreach initiative. We look forward to continuing to cultivate strong relationships between community leaders throughout the county and the local law enforcement agencies.
* Unfortunately, due to limited seating capacity, the event is not open to the public.