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A New Jersey State Comptroller's office investigation recently discovered that an officer training conference hosted by Dennis Benigno's Street Cop Training in October 2021 perpetrated unconstitutional, discriminatory, and violent conduct. According to a report released by the comptroller's office, an estimated $75,000 in public funds was spent to send around 240 New Jersey officers to the conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Almost 1000 police officers from across the country attended the 2021 conference. Street Cop Training was founded in 2012 by award-winning police officer Dennis Benigno, who also serves as the company's CEO. According to Street Cop Training's official website, Benigno has personally instructed over 10,000 officers since he began teaching in 2012.
Dennis Benigno is the CEO of Street Cop Training
Dennis Benigno is the founder and CEO of Street Cop Training. He has been a formal teacher since the company's creation in 2012. In 2001, Benigno became a New Jersey Corrections Officer when he was only 19. Three years later, he became a US Park Police Dept. police officer in Washington, DC. In 2005, Benigno arrived in New Jersey into one of the state's "largest municipalities."
Street Cop Training's official website lists the numerous awards won by Benigno. He has accumulated life-saving and leadership awards, several appreciation and recognition certificates, and letters from many organizations. Benigno has also won awards for meritious service and the prestigious Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.
The website states that Benigno's course, The Street Smart Cop: Pro-Active Patrol Tactics, was the company's flagship training program. Benigno has traveled in locations scattered across 49 states and trained over 10,000 officers while working with over 50 industry expert trainers since he began Street Cop Training.
"His (Benigno's) innovative approach to law enforcement training has changed the learning experience, for the better, in all aspects of this profession," the website says.
Benigno also runs a constant top 100 educational podcast, Street Cop Podcast. The website claims that the safety of the law enforcement personnel, citizens of the country, and the world was Benigno's "personal mission." He also worked for the proficiency of law enforcement personnel in "understanding and abiding by the constitution of the United States."
New Jersey Comptroller's office lambasts Street Cop Training
Dennis Benigno's Street Cop Training ran into trouble on Wednesday, December 6, when the New Jersey Comptroller's office released the results of an investigation into the organization's conduct. The investigation was directed at an eight-day Atlantic City conference conducted by the company in 2021.
Videos released by the Comptroller's office taken from the company itself showcase many instructors teaching the 1000s of attendees objectionable and sometimes unconstitutional practices. It is assumed that 240 attendees were from New Jersey, with their tuition fund of $75,000 coming straight from public funds.
When it came to traffic stops, a video showcased Boston Police Department's Tommy Brooks telling attendees to randomly stop vehicles without a reason and question the passengers to learn a "general baseline." According to Tommy, this was to pick up on "weird" answers that they might encounter later in their careers.
However, it is illegal to pull someone over randomly to ask questions. It is an unconstitutional crime if a motorist is pulled over by an officer without any reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or vehicle infractions. Officers cannot pull people over with only a "hunch."
In another clip, Brad Gilmore of the Bergen County prosecutor's office shows attendees how to engage people in traffic stops in a casual conversation to buy time for harsher questioning. However, a traffic stop should legally only be as long as it takes to "complete the mission" of the stop. A person should not be held for even a minute without reasonable suspicion.
The report also lambasted Street Cop Training for glorifying violence and encouraging a "warrior" mentality that contradicted decades of New Jersey policing reforms. In a video, Tim Kenny of the U.S Army Special Forces could be seen saying:
"I love violence. I love fighting. I love shooting. And I f**king love freedom ... It wasn't that long ago that we were drinking out of the skulls of our enemies."
He described in detail how one would drink blood from the severed heads of enemies before exclaiming:
"F**king rad right?"
Even Dennis Benigno could be seen joking:
"I'm not talking about the guy who's f**king recording you, like, 'I am not a citizen of the United States and f**king Act 12, 6.' Shut the f**k up, right? About to get pepper-sprayed, f**king tased, windows broken out, motherf**ker."
Sean Barnette of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said that he had a problem treating the "gang bangers" and the "pieces of s**t of society." However, he had a mentor who basically taught him to treat these people as "live tissue labs" to practice for if anybody else whom he values more gets hurt. Former Officer Shawn Pardazi is seen in the video saying:
"Run from me, somewhere along the chase, it becomes pow pow pow,"
The Comptroller's office revealed that New Jersey spends millions to litigate allegations of excessive force used by law enforcement. In 2022, one particular case set back the state $10 million. After showcasing a traffic stop video of a "75-year-old Black man coming out of Trenton", Robbinsville township's Scott Kivet showcased the image of a monkey as a meme.
The report also lambasted Street Cop Training for encouraging insubordination if officers thought they knew better than their superiors and making light of internal affairs processes. Dennis Benigno was shown mocking the need for "voluntary consent" and "speed tickets."
The report alleged that over 100 discriminatory comments were made during the conference, including a joke Benigno made about "hookers and cocaine." Shawn Pardazi was seen saying that if officers were trying to get "poonani," there was a "finesse" to the approach. He compared it to the casting couch and said that officers needed to be a "f**king gigolo."
The report criticized the event for using inappropriate humor with s*xually charged language and lewd gestures and imagery, which were "demeaning to women" and not appropriate for a work setting. The video also showcased officers being gender insensitive and jokingly using a Middle Eastern dialect.
In a statement to CBS, Street Cop Training stated that officers who attended their program would always "routinely praise" it as "one of the best trainings they have ever received." The statement pointed out:
"Long before the OSC issued its report, Street Cop determined to impose stricter standards on colloquial and jocular language occasionally used by some instructors."
It further stated:
"However, there is not one single instance in the OSC Report where we have advocated any practice that is inconsistent with quality policing."
Street Cop Training claimed that the findings in the Comptroller's office report were "Isolated excerpts taken out of context." The company directly challenged the report by claiming that despite saving hundreds of lives and helping stop many drug and human trafficking instances, "some in New Jersey do not want what Street Cop has to offer."
Since the publishing of the report, the State's Attorney General has instructed State Police to not attend the seminar anymore. The report was referred to the Division on Civil Rights.
