NJ jury deadlocked on deciding if racist police chief committed hate crime
On Wednesday, a jury in New Jersey remained deadlocked on deciding if a racist police chief committed a hate crime.
—Rogue NJ cop who stole money, drugs pleads guilty in sweeping corruption probe—
Former Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera was found guilty on one count of lying to the FBI for brutally slamming the head of a handcuffed Black teen, Timothy Stroye, into a metal doorjamb, Yahoo reports.
But despite Nucera’s revolting recording disparaging Black citizens, hurling racial slurs, and threatening Black residents saying they should “stay the f**k out of Bordentown,” the jury hearing the case in Camden, told U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler, they couldn’t decide on if Nucera committed federal civil rights and hate crimes charges.
Kugler has asked them to keep trying to reach a verdict, the outlet reports.
Nucera’s racist rant was recorded by other officers. He was also caught on audio saying that Donald Trump was the “last hope for white people.”
Nucera also likened Black people to ISIS and animals, said they should be “mowed down by a firing squad” because they have “no value.”
When an anonymous officer wrote to the local paper about Nucera, the police chief tried to have the letter seized and tested for fingerprints to discover who the source was.
When he disagreed with an online critic, he reportedly sought to subpoena the IP address to uncover who the commenter was.
“I had lost all trust and confidence in the process,” Brian Pesce, Bordentown Township’s current police chief, said while testifying during Nucera’s federal trial. Pesce served under Nucera for 18 years and admitted he had seen first hand a “history of indifference” from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
