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Torey Cummings of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts used slides during last Friday’s presentation at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes that portray an unfairly negative image of police officers, parents said.
One slide, titled "Police Violence and People of Color," featured blatantly false and misleading information, they said.
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who lives in Franklin Lakes, said another slide showed “a menacing cop with a big gun” while a third showed two officers searching black suspects.
“Why would you show that to high school kids?” Kerik asked. “The only reason you do that is to turn them against the police.
“It’s unbelievable, really,” he added. “We’ve got great police officers here [in Franklin Lakes] and the surrounding communities. We don’t have racial or community issues. Now these children are being indoctrinated with material that fosters hatred and creates a racial divide.”
Law enforcement officers privately echoed those sentiments. One said it was particularly galling that the talk by Cummings -- a former member of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division -- came on National Police Week.
In response, Interim Schools Supt. Anthony Riscica noted that the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District “has had a long history of partnerships with our constituent local law enforcement agencies, as well as our county and state law enforcement officials.
“We hold them in high regard and acknowledge the risks they assume in securing the safety and security of our students, staff members and our communities,” the superintendent told Daily Voice.
“During the course of any school year many speakers are invited to talk with our students about issues of public importance,” Riscica said. “We are obliged to permit various viewpoints on these issues, provided the content presented is appropriate for our students.”
The presentation, he said, was “offered to students who chose to attend on a voluntary basis to learn about the operations of the Civil Rights Division and the types of cases falling within their federal jurisdiction.
“This is certainly a topic of significant interest to our students,” the superintendent added. “Since the Department of Justice is involved with alleged discriminatory conduct on the part of state actors, its presentation also included cases involving law enforcement officials.
“Please know that we will continue to ensure that presentations of various viewpoints on matters of public concern will be accurate and content appropriate for our students,” Riscica said.
Toward that end, local police said they would be more than happy to speak with students.
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