New Jersey AG Sues Clark, Former Mayor Over Alleged Racially Biased Policing
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state Division on Civil Rights have filed a civil-rights lawsuit against the township of Clark, former longtime Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, suspended Police Chief Pedro Matos and current Police Director Patrick Grady, alleging they directed officers to target and keep Black and other non‑white motorists out of the community. The complaint cites an analysis of 2015–2020 traffic data showing Black drivers were stopped 3.7 times more often than white drivers and Hispanic drivers 2.2 times more often, and describes this as part of "systematic" discrimination and harassment carried out at Bonaccorso’s behest. Bonaccorso, who resigned in January 2025 after pleading guilty in a corruption case involving his landscaping business, had previously been recorded on secret tapes using racial slurs, a scandal the town settled in 2020 with a $400,000 payout to the whistleblower officer. Clark’s current mayor, Angel Albanese, and Matos’s attorney are denouncing the suit as political and frivolous, pointing to timing as Platkin’s term winds down, while the attorney general’s office notes some racial disparities narrowed after the Union County Prosecutor took control of the department in 2020. The case positions the state against a suburban New York–area town in a high‑stakes test of how far civil-rights enforcers can go in policing alleged racial profiling by local governments and police brass.
📌 Key Facts
- New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights filed a civil lawsuit against Clark, N.J., its former mayor Sal Bonaccorso, suspended police chief Pedro Matos and current police director Patrick Grady.
- The suit alleges Clark’s leadership "systematically discriminated against and harassed Black and other non‑white motorists" and directed police to keep minorities out of town.
- State analysis cited in the complaint found that between 2015 and 2020 Black motorists were stopped 3.7 times more often than white motorists and Hispanic motorists 2.2 times more often in Clark.
- Bonaccorso resigned in January 2025 after pleading guilty to using township resources for his landscaping business and forging permit signatures; in 2020 the town paid $400,000 to settle a whistleblower case over secret recordings of him and police officials using racial slurs.
- Clark’s current mayor Angel Albanese called the lawsuit "frivolous" and accused Platkin of "playing politics" as his term ends, while Matos has been on paid leave since the county prosecutor took over the department in 2020.
📊 Relevant Data
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Clark township, Union County, New Jersey has a population of 15,544, with racial composition of 85.7% White alone, 2.2% Black alone, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 3.9% Asian alone, and 9.4% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Clark township, Union County, New Jersey — U.S. Census Bureau
In Union County, New Jersey (where Clark is located), the Hispanic or Latino population increased by 14 percentage points from 2000 to 2020, reaching 34.0% in 2020; the non-Hispanic Black population increased by 10 percentage points to 29.6%; and the non-Hispanic White population increased by 1 percentage point to 55.6%.
Changes in Racial and Ethnic Diversity in New Jersey 2000-2020 — Stockton University Hughes Center
A 2024 study in Chicago found that Black drivers have a higher relative citation rate from automated speed cameras (1.30) compared to White drivers (0.95), indicating disparities in moving violation rates even in bias-free enforcement.
The racial composition of road users, traffic citations, and police stops — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
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