The Trenton Police Department is under fire for allegations of abuse of power and is facing a major overhaul.

The United States Attorney’s Office has released a report revealing that Trenton police officers have been using excessive force and conducting unlawful searches and arrests on people in the city. The report states that there has been no accountability for police behavior.

“For too long the residents of Trenton have felt afraid of the police, rather than protected by them,” said U.S. Attorney Phil Sellinger.

The report reviewed hundreds of cases and hours of body cam video between 2018 and 2023.

One of the cases investigated involved the arrest and eventual death of Joseph Ahr – an arrest which was recorded on police body camera in 2020. At one point in that video, Ahr can be heard pleading for help, saying, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.”

The report says officers threw Ahr across his porch and slammed him to the ground.

Officer Nicholas Pietrowski was charged with misconduct for pepper spraying Ahr after he was on the ground and handcuffed. Ahr died 18 days later from respiratory failure. Pietrowski was indicted on a charge of official misconduct.

In another arrest, the U.S. attorney states a police officer stomped on a man’s hand several times when on the ground. The officer kneeled on his head and kicked him in the shoulder, according to the U.S. attorney.

In another incident, a teen was tackled for riding his bike on a sidewalk without a reflector, the report stated.

There were also stops and searches of pedestrians and drivers without “reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”

The report details how police would tackle or punch people who didn’t pose any threat, or even pepper spray people during arrests when facing “little resistance or danger.”

“The use of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, sometimes with tragic consequences, have eroded public trust and undermined public safety,” Sellinger said.

The report comes as no surprise to those who live in Trenton. Dan Rogers has lived in Trenton all his life.

“They’re supposed to protect and serve, not hurt and abuse,” says Rogers.

Rogers said he had a run-in with police in the 1990s during a domestic dispute. He says he was thrown to the ground and injured. He tried to file a complaint, but it went nowhere.

“They broke my arm. I only weigh like 140 pounds. Slammed me to the ground my arm broke in three places,” he says.

Mayor Reed Gusciora responded to the report in a statement.

“Trust within the community is absolutely critical to the mission of the TPD, and the members of the TPD must work at building and rebuilding that trust every day,” the mayor wrote.

There have been consequences for police behavior. The report states that since 2021, officer misconduct has cost the city $7 million in lawsuits.