Two New Jersey police officers recorded engaging in racist banter with Clark Township Mayor Sal Bonaccorso in 2020 accuse authorities of taking too long to take action against them and want their disciplinary charges dismissed.
Attorneys representing Clark Township Chief Pedro Matos, Internal Affairs Sgt. Joseph Teston and a third cop told a court investigators “blew it” by drawing out their dealings with the officers, according to NJ.com.
The officers have reportedly been on paid leave since a whistleblower unearthed conversations dating back to 2017 in which racial and sexist language can be heard.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin recommended both cops be fired and a third officer associated with the incident be demoted. Prosecutors opted against filing criminal charges against the cops, but told a Union County Superior Court judge Friday that the complex case was moved along at an appropriate speed.
In recordings reportedly discovered in July 2020, the law enforcement officers and mayor can be heard using derogatory words to describe Black people and saying they hoped no women join the police force . A lieutenant who became aware of the recordings was paid $400,000 in hush money. NJ.com parent company NJ Advance Media published the tapes once the scandal came to light.
Lawyers representing the cops argued Friday that state law calls for internal affairs charges to be filed within 45 days of “sufficient information” being gathered. That should’ve occurred by April 2022, they claim. The officers filed a civil suit last month stating their case.
Debate continued for 90 minutes Friday over when the criminal investigation took place and how it coincided with the departmental probe.
“The question becomes kind of, ‘Who knew what when?’” Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh said Friday without rendering a decision. “I don’t know that.”
The embattled 63-year-old Republican mayor is seeking reelection to a seventh term in November.
