By Aaron Miller-
A de-escalation program that trains officers on how to avoid deadly situations is being celebrated as the reason Newark police officers did not fire a single shot in 2020.
With so many cases of police brutality in America in 2020, Newark police force stands out in the impeccable operation of its police officers, and are proud .
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Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, expressed pride in Newark Police officers because not one officer in the city fired his or her weapon while on duty thanks to the de-escalation program, which was implemented two years ago.
The public safety director reflected on major tensions on the streets following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in May. Some of those protests spilled into Newark, but the well trained officers responded appropriately.
Ambrose said, ‘We had protests, and they tried to take over of one of our precincts.’
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Roughly 1,700 people swarmed a Newark precinct on May 30 in attempt to take over the facility during a Black Lives Matter protest. Ambrose said the situation was a ‘true test’ of the de-escalation training, but not one shot was fired and nobody was severely injured during the incident. Six officers from the city also died due to the coronavirus.
Ambrose said:
”It was the unknown. It was the unknown that you didn’t know with this disease that you were coming here every day, and these police officers and firefighters going out there, and we didn’t know…
We lost six police officers and going to six funerals, it all wears on you.
Ambrose credited the de-escalation program as the reason officers avoided firing their weapons throughout the year, noting, ‘These things, it takes time for it to work. And I think it worked.’
In a statement on the matter, cited by New Jersey 101.5, Ambrose commented:
This is proof-positive that our de-escalation training is highly effective. Our officers have embraced de-escalation training and are actively employing this resource when engaging with the community.
Our training also played a huge role in Newark having zero violence during this year’s protests of the murder of George Floyd. The community and police worked together to ensure that non-Newark residents, who came here to protest, didn’t initiate any violence in our city.
Governor Phil Murphy took to Twitter to praise the news, saying it was a sign that de-escalation is ‘proven and effective.’
Newark Police reported a 6% drop in crime last year, with 7% more guns being taken of the streets in comparison to 2019. Ambrose expressed his pride in Newark officers for coming to work during the pandemic, arresting people with guns and not firing a shot.
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