With his city facing stark rise in homicides, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh to fire Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora
PATERSON, N.J. -- Mayor Andre Sayegh said Tuesday he's moving forward with plans to fire his police chief.
It comes as Paterson grapples with a rise in crime, CBS2's Christina Fan reported.
Sayegh didn't mince words when announcing his intention to fire Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora after hiring him two years ago. He called his job performance the last two years in Paterson deplorable.
"A police chief does not have the right to remain silent when gun violence is surging in your city. A police chief does not have a right to remain silent when there is a corrupt culture in your department," Sayegh said. "Sadly, in all his inactivity, he has proven to be an absentee chief. I cannot allow him to use Paterson as an ATM."
Since Baycora took the job in February 2020, Paterson saw back-to-back years of record homicides, a total of 75 under his watch.
Instead of coming up with ways to tackle the surge, Sayegh accused Baycora of taking a month-long vacation during last summer's spike, falling asleep at public events, and deliberately blocking calls from city leaders.
"We are talking to a ghost because he is never there," City Councilman Luis Velez said.
The mayor said he indicated in February he had lost faith in Baycora's leadership and it was time for the chief to go. He said the two sides reached a settlement, but about a month ago, the chief suddenly backed out.
Residents told Fan the fallout has been hurting their community.
"It happens any time of the day. You hear the sirens. You hear the shootings," Jashina Green-Jackson said.
CBS2 tried reaching Baycora, but was not successful.
Last Friday, he filed a lawsuit in Passaic County Superior Court, suing the mayor, among others, alleging fraudulent conduct in the department and a retaliatory hostile work environment.
"He knew this day was coming and that is why he moved to preempt it," Sayegh said.
The City Council now has two weeks to overturn the termination before it becomes final.