Honig, director of the state's Division of Criminal Justice, said there is an investigation "every time a police officer shoots his weapon" and he outlined the steps involved
MORRISTOWN -- Police-involved shootings, which often draw severe reactions from the local community, are an "officer's worst nightmare," according to the director of the state Attorney General's Criminal Division.
"No one wants that," Elie Honig told a meeting of the Morris Area Clergy Council on Tuesday in Morristown.
A police officer must not only grapple with a death and face possible notoriety, Honig said, but his gun is taken away, he is suspended and he is often the subject of a murder investigation by a grand jury.
Thus, the key for officers is training to avoid these situations, and that involves establishing good relations with community leaders in advance, Honig said.
Honig made his presentation to the clergy council in Morris among one of his first of many similar visits with community leaders in every county in New Jersey.
RELATED: State, federal officials defend police shooting investigations
Honig talked about the training given to police and also outlined the steps law enforcement officials take in investigating shootings by police officers.
"There are so many interactions every day between the public and police," Honig said. "So many are handled with dignity and fairness, but all it takes is one that isn't and things can spin out of control."
Denville Police Chief Christopher Wagner, who is also the president of the state Police Chiefs Association, has been making the rounds with Honig at these meetings with community leaders, which, he said, are important in "making a connection before a crisis, so our relations are not adversarial if something comes up."
At a recent statewide police training in Princeton, Wagner said in an interview, police were taught to focus on their possible "implicit bias" in situations where "we need to make a split-second decision without judging people."
The Rev. Robert Rogers, pastor of Morristown's Church of God in Christ and president of the clergy council, pointed out that in the police-involved shootings, the victims are often "people of color," so the "implicit bias" training was a good idea.
"The critical issue is being pro-active," he said. "We have to prevent excessive force. Multicultural training is so important."
At the meeting arranged by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and involving clergy and law enforcement personnel, Honig outlined the procedures taken by law enforcement in investigating police-involved shootings following a directive issued in July by Acting Attorney General John Hoffman.
The policies were drafted in consultation with such minority organizations as the NAACP along with a Latino group and a Muslim group, Honig said.
"Every time a police officer shoots his weapon, it is investigated," Honig said, noting there have been "150 to 200" police-involved shootings in the past three years in New Jersey, although not all involved people getting hit.
When there is an investigation, Honig said, state policy is to be "transparent," but not to issue "rolling information" while the investigation is ongoing.
Thus, when the investigation is over, he said, officials will release the information, saying whether an officer was charged with a crime or was exonerated.
All investigations must be "comprehensive, rigorous and impartial," have a mandatory 72-hour review of any "actual or potential conflicts of interest" and have "multi-tiered layers of independent review," Honig said.
He pointed out that after the fatal police shooting of a teenager in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014, there was no such mandatory review, because the district attorney in Missouri doesn't report to the attorney general, but "that doesn't happen here."
Also, in New Jersey, he said, "at least two officers must come to the same conclusion" in any investigation.
MORE: Questions linger in shooting of teenager in Trenton
Most cases go to a grand jury, Honig said, which can choose to indict or not indict a police officer, "unless the undisputed facts indicate the shooting was justified."
Police officers may use deadly force only in self-defense, if someone faces an "imminent threat of death" or in investigations of certain crimes, such as homicide and rape, Honig said.
Honig said these meetings are designed to let community leaders know "we have a system in place," and community leaders interviewed at the meeting agreed Morris County is off to a good start.
Michael Van Allen, chairman of Morris County's NAACP chapter, praised the meeting and said Morris County law enforcement officials are "very open and transparent.
"They're trying to keep communications open, so if something does come up, it would lead to a thorough investigation," he said.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.