Nearly 400 New Jersey police departments spent over $1 million on controversial training program, audit finds
TRENTON, N.J. — A new audit has found that far more New Jersey police departments spent much more money than previously known on a controversial training program known as "Street Cop."
The New Jersey comptroller's office described a 2021 conference from the Street Cop training company as "lewd," "disparaging" and "glorifying violence."
The comptroller's follow-up report says 377 police departments across the state spent more than $1 million total on Street Cop training between 2019 and 2023.
At least 20 New Jersey police officers registered for 2024 Street cop conference
The new comptroller report also says at least 20 New Jersey police officers appeared on the registration list for the April 2024 Street Cop conference in Florida, despite the orders the state's attorney general laid out in a CBS News New York Investigates story last February.
"I've made it very to clear to all 38,000 sworn officers and their leadership that no one should be attending Street Cop training," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said in February 2024.
The comptroller's office says they've referred the names of the officers on the 2024 Street Cop registration list to the attorney general's office for further investigation. It should be noted that the comptroller could not confirm if those officers attended, just that they were on the registration list.
"It's incredibly troubling. What we saw from the initial report was that Street Cop was teaching officers how to violate the constitution," said Amol Sinha, executive director for ACLU New Jersey.
"Those who approve the purchase of these classes need to spend a little more time figuring out or identifying what material will be addressed," said Brian Higgins, a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Who is Street Cop founder Dennis Benigno?
CBS News New York Investigates also found that the company's founder, former police officer Dennis Benigno, had been disciplined by the Woodbridge Police Department three times before eventually retiring, including once for allegedly using a racial slur while off-duty to describe the people he chased on the job, which Benigno denied.
In one video from the 2021 conference, Benigno says, "I wanna [expletive] die at like 91 with hookers and cocaine around me."
Benigno did post a video at one point apologizing for the language he and other speakers used at that 2021 conference and denying that Street Cop ever taught unconstitutional policing.
CBS News New York has reached out to Street Cop multiple times over the last year, and they've never agreed to an interview.
