Cranford Police Chief Responds to Cranford Patch Article

To The Editor:

In today’s era of timely media, 24-hour new cycles, and online news media sources, our ability to immediately retrieve information from media has never been more instantaneous.  With that power comes great responsibility, and I wish to take a moment to discuss irresponsible journalism shown in today’s Cranford Patch Article written by “NJ Patch Staff” dated October 18^th, 2022.  The subject matter involves allegations made in a lawsuit against Cranford Police Officers and the Township of Cranford. 

An Open Public Records Act (OPRA) was received by the Township of Cranford requesting details of the aforementioned lawsuit from “Cranford Concerned Parents”.  The Township of Cranford provided a copy of the lawsuit settlement to the requestor(s), which in turn was clearly forwarded to Cranford Patch.

On Thursday, October 13^th, 2022, Cranford Patch reached out to the Cranford Police Department looking for a quote.  As is required and responsible in personnel matters, the Cranford Police Department did not make a comment on the merits of this lawsuit and its unsubstantiated facts.  On Tuesday, October 18^th, 2022, 5-days after this response to Remy Samuels at Cranford Patch, an article was posted on the Cranford Patch website listing the allegations made in the complainant’s lawsuit.  It is clear that the Cranford Patch Staff merely listed the bulleted allegations but never took the time to vet the veracity of the allegations made against an active member of the Cranford Police Department in this lawsuit.  Cranford Patch did not seek any documents, on-scene witness statements, police reports, or corroborating information to substantiate the allegations.  Instead, the Cranford Patch Staff painted a one-sided, sordid picture of police brutality, violations of civil rights, and malfeasance of other officers.  Again, none of these allegations were corroborated by police reports, on-scene witness statements or facts of this incident.  Furthermore, no internal affairs complaints were lodged against any officers involved in the arrest that preceded this lawsuit.

In this article, the unnamed reporter continued to mention the acts of an active member of the Cranford Police Department, Police Officer Thomas Stiansen, without conducting a proper, thorough background inquiry to substantiate the allegations made in the lawsuit. 

For the sake of police-community trust in the Township of Cranford, I implore the staff of Cranford Patch and its editor to do better journalism, vet information, and not give into sensationalism when reporting on allegations as serious as those listed in this article.  We are a transparent organization that appreciates its partnerships with local media and hope that this type of irresponsible reporting does not become commonplace with the Cranford Patch.

Ryan J. Greco

Chief of Police

Cranford Police Department

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