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POLICE TRANSPARENCY NJInternal Affairs & Discipline Records

Department profile · Passaic County

Paterson Police Department

Reported as: Paterson PDMunicipal police

Jurisdiction context

Civil service jurisdiction

Discipline at this department is governed by the Title 4A civil service framework, matched to Paterson on the New Jersey Civil Service Commission roster.

Read how the process works or the Title 4A glossary. Browse NJCSNavigator’s civil service jurisdiction directory for the full local-jurisdiction roster.

Reflects the NJCSC Appendix A roster as of 2026-07-04. Context only, not legal advice.

In brief

Paterson Police Department, a municipal police agency in Passaic County, reported 187 sworn officers in 2025 and 292 internal affairs investigations that year. Its rate of 156.1 investigations per 100 officers was above the 125.6 median for municipal police. Of the 292 investigations detailed for 2025, 107 reported sustained complaints. The most common allegation was excessive force.

The releases from 2020 through 2025 list 17 major discipline records for the department, 2 of which were terminations. The report card gives Paterson a grade of A, placing it in the 18th percentile of its peer group of 14 agencies with 60 or more officers. A higher volume of internal affairs activity can reflect more misconduct or a stronger reporting culture.

Written by this site strictly from the figures on this page; every number is cited below.

Sworn officers, 2025

187[1]

IA investigations, 2025

292[1]

Incidents, 2025

204[1]

Major discipline records

17

All years, 2020-2025

Internal affairs investigations by year

20420212222022345202326520242922025
Internal affairs investigations reported by Paterson Police Department, by year
Internal affairs investigations reported by Paterson Police Department, by year
20212022202320242025
204222345265292

As reported to the Attorney General.[2][3][4][5][6]

Complaint mix, 2025

Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 292 investigations, 107 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 291 officers involved.[7]

Most serious allegation

Most serious allegations reported by Paterson PD, 2025
Most serious allegations reported by Paterson PD, 2025
Excessive Force64
Other Departmental Rule Violation59
Other Criminal Violation33
Preventable MV Accident29
Demeanor25
Theft18
Attendance Issues17
Improper Arrest11
AdministrativeConduct / dutyRights / integrityViolence / criminal

Internal disposition

Internal dispositions reported by Paterson PD, 2025
Internal dispositions reported by Paterson PD, 2025
Sustained107
Exonerated83
not provided65
Not Sustained24
Unfounded10
Administratively Closed3

Against peers, 2025

AnalysisComputed by this site from reported totals; not an official statistic.
PATERSON PD156.1COUNTY MEDIAN, MUNICIPAL POLICE (18)123.2NJ MEDIAN, MUNICIPAL POLICE (447)125.6
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Paterson PD156.1
County median, municipal police (18)123.2
NJ median, municipal police (447)125.6

Investigations per 100 sworn officers, using the officer counts each agency reported for 2025. A higher number is ambiguous on its own: it can reflect more misconduct, or a stronger internal reporting culture. Medians are computed within the same agency type only.

View the report card

Major discipline records

Major discipline records reported by Paterson Police Department, 2020-2025
YearOfficerRankSanction as reportedSrc
2025Gina CastagnettoOfficerOther sanction[8]
2024Angel AcevedoOfficerOther sanction[9]
2024Giuseppe CiarlaSergeantOther sanction[10]
2024Juan CruzOfficerOther sanction[11]
2024Jeury DeJesusOfficerOther sanction[12]
2024Oliver GarciaDetectiveOther sanction[13]
2024Matthew McKoyOfficerSuspended 30 days[14]
2024Michael NesticoOfficerSuspended 30 days[15]
2024Justin SchmidOfficerOther sanction[16]
2024Valentin TorresDetectiveOther sanction[17]
2023Sebastian GomezSergeantSuspended 10 days[18]
2023Alberto SanabriaOfficerOther sanction[19]
2022Jacob FelicianoOfficerSuspended 90 days[20]
2022Michael CheffSergeantTerminated[21]
2021Jack SanchezPatrol OfficerSuspended 20 days[22]
2021Spencer FinchPatrol OfficerTerminatedSuspended 30 days[23]
2020Jack SanchezPatrol OfficerSuspended 20 days[24]

Every name links to the officer's record page with the agency's full synopsis and citation.

Questions and answers

How many internal affairs investigations did Paterson Police Department report in 2025?
Paterson Police Department reported 292 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 187 sworn officers that year.
How many major discipline records does Paterson Police Department have?
Paterson Police Department has 17 major discipline records in the Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, of which 2 were terminations. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.

Sources

  1. [1]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2454. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  2. [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 415. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  3. [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1435. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  4. [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1943. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  5. [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 918. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  6. [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2454. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
  7. [7]New Jersey Internal Affairs Investigations, 2024-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. Aggregated from every Paterson PD row for 2025; row 1 is the header. ↩
  8. [8]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 511. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  9. [9]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1245. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  10. [10]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1246. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  11. [11]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1247. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  12. [12]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1248. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  13. [13]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1249. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  14. [14]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1250. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  15. [15]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1251. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  16. [16]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1252. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  17. [17]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1253. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  18. [18]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1858. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  19. [19]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1859. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  20. [20]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2286. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  21. [21]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2287. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  22. [22]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2656. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  23. [23]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2657. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
  24. [24]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2922. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩