NJ Spotlight News
Grand jury clears Paterson police in Najee Seabrooks killing
Clip: 3/18/2025 | 1m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
Seabrooks was experiencing a mental health crisis when police shot him in March 2023
A state grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges against the Paterson police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Najee Seabrooks after a standoff in March 2023. The 31-year-old Seabrooks was experiencing a mental health crisis when he called police to his apartment.
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NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS
NJ Spotlight News
Grand jury clears Paterson police in Najee Seabrooks killing
Clip: 3/18/2025 | 1m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
A state grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges against the Paterson police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Najee Seabrooks after a standoff in March 2023. The 31-year-old Seabrooks was experiencing a mental health crisis when he called police to his apartment.
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A state grand jury has decided not to press criminal charges against officers involved in the fatal 2023 police shooting of Najee Seabrooks.
The 31 year old Paterson man was in the midst of a mental health crisis when he called police to his apartment.
An investigation by the attorney general's office found Seabrooks had locked himself inside his bathroom for hours out of fear someone was trying to kill him.
Seabrooks’ mother, EMS, and police urged him to come out, but crisis negotiators were asked to step in after Brooks started a fire in the bathroom that broke a pipe, then threw objects, injuring two officers.
After a prolonged standoff, body camera footage eventually shows Brooks opening the bathroom door wielding a knife when the officers fired their guns.
The shooting prompted major changes to the Paterson Police Department, including the state seizing control of the force and reforms to statewide crisis response policies.
Seabrooks family filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month against Paterson, alleging police escalated the situation instead of diffusing it.
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NJ Spotlight News is a local public television program presented by THIRTEEN PBS