It is almost laughable to hear police departments categorically deny racial profiling and police brutality exists in any capacity when you learn of this leaked email from a former New Jersey police chief.
Internal emails from 2014 revealed racist policing, order by the police chief of the Wyckoff, New Jersey police department. Benjamin Fox was summarily demoted Wednesday for instructing officers to racially profile Black people from a neighboring town.
According to NBC New York 4, Fox was demoted to patrolman and will be suspended for a 180-day period.
The investigation commenced in March when the Acting Bergen County Prosecutor, Gurbir Grewel, investigated the emails that were leaked out to the media.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s New Jersey chapter sparked the investigation after they released the December 5, 2014 emails calling for officers to racially profile.
Here is the 2014 email below:
“Profiling, racial or otherwise, has its place in law enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. Black gang members from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That’s why we check out suspicious Black people in white neighborhoods. It’s insane to think that the police should just ‘dumb down’ just to be politically correct. The public wants us to keep them safe and I’m confident that they want us to use our skills and knowledge to attain that goal.”