Lopez holds meeting on racial profiling by BPD officers

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Councilman Joseph Lopez held a public forum at Carteret Elementary School on Tuesday, April 19, to discuss the recently released Seton Hall Law School report of Bloomfield Police Department ticketing patterns. The report alleged that the department is engaged in racial profiling. This was determined in the report by the summonses that were issued.

The report found that most traffic tickets were given to blacks and Latinos. Seton Hall law students came to Bloomfield Municipal Court and observed the traffic violators. Also, they inspected a database of one year’s worth of BPD tickets. According to the report, a preponderance of the names on the tickets were Spanish.
Attending the meeting was NJ Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex; Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-28th District; and Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, D-28th District.

Lopez acknowledged former Mayor Raymond McCarthy, who was in the audience, as well as Jill Fischman, the Bloomfield Board of Education vice-president, and Shane Berger, a BOE member. Mayor Michael Venezia and Police Director Sam DeMaio did not attend. Venezia had already called for an official public meeting May 3.
The Carteret event was moderately well attended.

Rice said he had a problem with some of the findings of the report but not the facts.
“They are court records,” he said. “As your senator, I will help correct what maybe has to be corrected.
Caputo said the report was well-intended. But he told Denbeaux that before publishing the report, he should have sat down with Bloomfield officials to discuss its findings.

“I can see how this can alarm people,” Caputo said.
Denbeaux said the report was based on observation.
Caputo said the township should still have been given the opportunity to respond.

“It’s an explosive issue,” Caputo said. “The back-and-forth should have happened before the report was issued.”
The meeting was held in the gym. In the parking lot of the school, however, was a truck displaying pictures with sound. Among the pictures were an NBC-TV News report on the racial profiling issue; Councilman Elias Chalet, who has been indicted for bribery, behind super-imposed prison bars; Mayor Michael Venezia seated with Chalet; and a campaign photograph of Lopez.

Venezia, through his press agent, criticised Lopez for blatantly politicizing the meeting, noting the TV truck in the parking lot.

“I didn’t know anything about the truck,” Lopez said, “and I didn’t see it.”
Berger said he saw it.
“No comment,” he said.

The public meeting called by the mayor will take place at the Bloomfield Middle School on May 3, at 5:45 p.m.
The only council member expected to speak will be Councilwoman Nina Davis. Lopez objected to this, when informed.

But Venezia said Davis asked to speak.
“She’s the council liaison to the Bloomfield Civil Rights Commission,” he said. “I thought she should have a role. In the future, the commission will have a big part in the dialogue, if necessary, of what happens Bloomfield.

Venezia said if Lopez wants to speak, he can from the audience.
Some of the images displayed by truck that was in the Demarest school parking lot were images of campaign mailers, sent to selected Democratic voters and critical of Venezia.

“It’s the same truck with the negative mailers,” Venezia said. “I find it funny that he’s denying it.”
“The issue of racial profiling happened in the 3rd Ward,” Lopez said. “The mayor is having the meeting at an inconvenient place and time.”