Newark cops were ordered to steer clear of Delaney Hall even after violent weekend clashes rocked the detention facility, an internal police memo obtained by The Post revealed.
The June 8 memo illustrates the jurisdictional mess at the now infamous detainee facility, which has become the center of angry protests with police arresting people from around the country and chilling footage showing instigators slamming the vehicles of Delaney Hall workers.
“No officers are to handle any call for service pertaining to Delaney Hall located at 451 Doremus Ave.,” according to the Newark PD 3rd Precinct Memorandum, under the subject heading “Delaney Hall Call for Service.”
“If officers are dispatch[ed] to a call they are to immediately notified [sic] their field supervisor or the desk boss,” according to the order from 3rd Precinct Commander Capt. Maik Alexandre.
The “tenets of the memorandum” would be the subject of roll call throughout the week, underlining its seriousness, according to the document.
“It’s all political theater here,” said one Newark cop, who blamed the decision to order local officers away from the facility on Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka.
“The mayor doesn’t want anybody going to Delaney Hall because it’s an ICE facility,” the officer added.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) deployed New Jersey state police May 29, then pulled back after getting hammered by her base, transferring authority to Newark police.
There were reports the feds had been planning a big infusion of personnel, something some state officials have been pleading for to help keep order.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Newark and our state police — so that’s our governor — have an obligation to defend fellow law enforcement from total abuse,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) told The Post.
“I think they could do more. Someone’s going to get hurt, then they’re going to blame the ICE police officer for the mistreatment,” he said.
Baraka griped about the involvement of local police, even after violent clashes between demonstrators and cops at Delaney Hall resulted in multiple arrests.
“Last night, the Newark Police Division (NPD) responded to a call regarding provocateurs at Delaney Hall who were blocking the facility’s entrance. It is my position that NPD should not have been called to intervene in this situation,” Baraka said in a Monday statement.
The responsibility for maintaining security rests with private company GEO, which has a $1 billion, 15-year contract to operate Delaney, Baraka insisted.
“Asking Newark police officers to assume that role places an unnecessary burden,” he claimed.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), who recently toured Delaney and spoke to its “excellent” exercise facilities which include yoga, said there was a “brief moment in time, the sunshine came through” when state and local police were coordinating to protect First Amendment activities and stop vandalism.
“I am embarrassed and disturbed to say we’ve gone the opposite direction: got rid of the state troopers, and the Newark police got rid of those few and reduced the numbers they had there. And it was shameful to the people that work there,” he said.
“The powers that be in New Jersey, the governor and others, better hope than nobody gets profoundly hurt or that nobody dies. Because this is a bad formula. It’s a formula for disaster,” he said.
