CLARK, New Jersey (WABC) — Disturbing allegations of systematic racism are at the center a new lawsuit against a New Jersey town, its police department and a former mayor.
The investigation into discrimination in Clark Township has been ongoing for years now.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office assumed control over the police department back in 2020 after a whistleblower’s recordings documented racist remarks by former Mayor Salvatore Bonaccourso and police leaders at the time, and numerous complaints were filed by the public against police.
Attorney General Matt Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights says Clark officials systematically discriminated against and harassed Black and other non-white drivers, and that those efforts were led and encouraged by Mayor Bonaccourso and Police Chief Pedro Matos.
The investigation revealed that Bonaccourso instructed officers to “keep Black people out of Clark,” for example, by focusing more patrols and traffic stops on roadways coming from neighboring towns that have higher minority populations and using the excuse of smelling marijuana as a reason to stop and search Black and Hispanic drivers.
The officers involved, including Chief Matos, are still suspended with pay.
Mayor Bonaccourso stepped down in January of 2025 after facing both corruption and discrimination charges.
The state’s complaint has been filed in New Jersey Superior Court.
The attorney general says the motion seeks to stop harassment in the township, calls for continued monitoring of township leadership and the police department, and seeks damages for all of the people who were victimized.
The New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association released a statement blasting the attorney general’s civil suit.
“It is clear that, as Attorney General Matthew Platkin leaves office, he is trying to alter history,” NJ State PBA said in a statement. “Today’s actions by his office are said to be an examination of practices over 10 years. His office has been in charge of the Clark Police Department for nearly 5 1/2 years. In July of 2020, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office took over Clark Police Department in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office. The allegations in the civil suit have been repeatedly addressed.
The PBA says the attorney general failed to acknowledge the professionalism of the members of the Clark Police Department, and says that the attorney general’s own data for the past 5.5 years confirms that Clark officers are “policing honorably.”
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