Fallout continues tonight in the state's capital city after a scathing federal report from the DOJ on Thursday accused the Trenton Police Department of violating civil rights through a pattern of excessive force, unlawful searches and arrests.

The allegations come after a yearlong federal investigation into reports that city officers routinely made illegal arrests and used unnecessary brutality.

The DOJ report also recommended more than two dozen changes to be made within the department.

Now that it's out there, though, what happens next?

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the latest.

My God.

And I came out sitting at the table.

That's in cases like this one where Trenton police arrested and pepper sprayed a resident who later died of respiratory failure in June 2020, prompted the federal Department of Justice report that found cops here use excessive force and unlawfully stop, search and arrest people.

So.

Help me out here.

We need to talk about slash officers.

We'll move them across the front porch, slammed his face down on the steps and pepper sprayed him in the face while handcuffing him.

Body worn camera footage of the encounter later discredited the officer's claim that the man had presented a threat.

This conduct is egregious, unacceptable and unlawful.

The department's report referenced multiple cases, including a 16 year old seized by the throat and jammed against a car hood, and folks illegally stopped and frisked.

And it described a pattern of brutal conduct and brazen culture, but ascribed it to poor training.

Trenton police officers do not receive the training they need, including in crucial areas like use of force and the legal rules for stops and searches.

The report includes a list of recommended improvements, including department wide training and use of force, and stops and searches.

Supervisors included enhanced accountability to identify violations and take disciplinary action, better data collection to document police actions, and instruction on de-escalation techniques.

They have pledged to work with us on the reforms necessary to address these issues.

And so, today marks a new chapter.

Just the same old routine script is not going to work for us with the NAACP.

What we want to see is a lot more changes.

Social justice advocates expressed deep concern that the DOJ signed no formal consent agreement compelling Trenton to meet specific metrics.

Also, this cooperative relationship with the feds retains the same police command structure.

It doesn't go far enough.

Advocates say.

I would like realistically, an apology right from the mayor, from the police director.

You know, I'm glad that you all were cooperating with the Department of Justice.

But the community needs healing and they need answers.

What we're seeing is not just the actions of a few rogue beat cops.

What we're seeing is, essentially, attitude reflects leadership, right?

The buck stops here.

And, what we do recognize is that our officers need training.

We need resources for that, and we need more supervision.

But Trenton Mayor Read Gusciora offered no apologies, and he said no staffing changes are currently under consideration, either, pending a meeting with DOJ officials.

We feel that we are, accountable and look to working with the Department of, justice.

We're not going to, hide anything or sweep anything under the rug.

But where there's action that needs to be taken, we'll we'll stand by that.

We're we're looking for specific specifics and, specific officers who are involved.

We can't take any action, until we actually see the incidents that are talking about.

But will the DOJ even be able to rigorously monitor reforms in Trenton or in a dozen other cities where it's probed allegations of police abuse?

The president elect opposes current investigations of local policing, and that worries the ACLU's Jim Sullivan.

There is a very good chance that, with the new administration coming in, that federal decision, decrees don't happen anymore, that they pull back in new Jersey, and don't even complete this investigation.

Sullivan says state lawmakers need to step up and police the police.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.