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Virtua Health's Discriminatory Drug Testing For Pregnant Patients Caused False Positives: AG Virtua Health's Discriminatory Drug Testing For Pregnant Patients Caused False Positives: AG
Virtua Health's Discriminatory Drug Testing For Pregnant Patients Caused False Positives: AG A South Jersey healthcare system was accused of discriminating against pregnant patients with a mandatory drug testing policy, authorities said. Attorney General Matthew Platkin has filed a lawsuit against Virtua Health, according to a news release on Thursday, Sept. 26. The company with corporate headquarters in Marlton operates hospitals in Voorhees, Mount Holly, and Camden. The lawsuit claimed Virtua has had a policy since 2018 of universal drug testing for all pregnant patients admitted to its hospitals' labor and delivery units. Virtua doesn't have a similar policy for those who a…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say A Jersey Shore bank will pay more than $15 million in a settlement for racially discriminatory lending practices known as redlining, authorities said. OceanFirst Bank agreed to the settlement to resolve the accusations that date back to 2018, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. The Toms River-based bank was accused of redlining in predominantly non-white neighborhoods in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The $15 million settlement came after the Department of Justice launched its Combating Redlining Initiative in October 2021, aiming to s…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Atlantic City Honors Mississippi Civil Rights Leaders At 1964 DNC With Historic Marker Atlantic City Honors Mississippi Civil Rights Leaders At 1964 DNC With Historic Marker
Atlantic City Honors Mississippi Civil Rights Leaders At 1964 DNC With Historic Marker As Chicago hosts the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City honored a historic civil rights moment that happened when the party's nomination event was held at Boardwalk Hall about 60 years ago. Atlantic City leaders unveiled a Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker historical marker at Kennedy Plaza on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The plaque is the trail's first one outside of the state of Mississippi. The marker commemorates when the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) arrived in Atlantic City for the 1964 Democratic National Convention. The MFDP's delegates argued that their state's al…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Passaic County Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues Passaic County Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues
Passaic County Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Passaic County correctional officer admitted that he brought an inmate to a "blind spot" at the county jail so two colleagues could beat him for squirting one of them with urine. Officer Lorenzo Bowden, 39, initially agreed with Sgt. Jose Gonzalez and Sgt. Donald Vinales not to talk after they'd received federal grand jury subpoenas two years ago this month, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. Bowden eventually had a change of heart. The pretrial detainee was "transported through an area of the PCJ that does not have a video surveillance camera, which correctional officers …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized
NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Nine months after a former corrections officer at a New Jersey prison was sentenced to 2½ years behind bars for admitting that he brutalized inmates in what one victim called a “fight club," a second officer cut his own deal with federal prosecutors. Joshua Hand, 34, of Millville, admitted in federal court in Camden on Monday, Feb. 26, that he stood by while two prisoners were being assaulted by fellow inmates at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Hand violated both inmates' civil rights by not stopping their assailants or reporting the in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Scathing Report: Police Trainers Glorified Violence, Demeaned Women At NJ Seminar (VIDEOS) Scathing Report: Police Trainers Glorified Violence, Demeaned Women At NJ Seminar (VIDEOS)
Scathing Report: Police Trainers Glorified Violence, Demeaned Women At NJ Seminar (Videos) The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) showed no mercy to a New Jersey-based organization that they said preached unconstitutional policing tactics and  demeaned women at a massive training conference paid for using thousands of dollars in public funding. The OSC made a video montage of just some of the 100 instances of "discriminatory and harassing comments" made at the October 2021 seminar held by Street Cop in Atlantic City, included in its scathing report announcing the findings of its investigation. Approximately 1,000 law enforcement officers from across the U.S. gathered…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients A handyman from Paterson was ordered to immediately stop refusing to serve Jews and take several remedial steps or face serious charges, state authorities in Trenton said on Thursday. Melquisedec Francis must satisfy eight specific demands to keep from being prosecuted, including announcing that he no longer discriminates against Jewish customers, attending training on anti-Semitism and paying a fine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Nov. 30. In advertisements on TaskRabbit and elsewhere last month, Francis wrote: "I am expressing my solidarity with the Palestinian Peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Want To Feel Pain?': NJ Cop Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver 2X Pleads Guilty, Feds Say 'Want To Feel Pain?': NJ Cop Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver 2X Pleads Guilty, Feds Say
'Want To Feel Pain?': NJ Cop Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver 2X Pleads Guilty, Feds Say A South Jersey police officer admitted in federal court to using excessive force when he twice pepper-sprayed a drunken but cooperative driver while handcuffed in 2017, authorities announced. John Grier III, 51, of Cedarville — who was indicted in 2021 — pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden in federal court on Thursday, Oct. 5, to a superseding information charging him with one count of violating an individual’s civil rights, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A sworn Bridgeton police officer since 2004, Grier's admission is in connection with an…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Veterans Homes Where Pandemic Deaths Soared Violated Residents' Civil Rights, Feds Find NJ Veterans Homes Where Pandemic Deaths Soared Violated Residents' Civil Rights, Feds Find
NJ Veterans Homes Where Pandemic Deaths Soared Violated Residents' Civil Rights, Feds Find UPDATE: State-run veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park violated the civil rights of their residents during the COVID pandemic and must correct policies and procedures going forward, federal authorities said Thursday. COVID killed more than 200 residents and staff at New Jersey's veterans’ homes, which was among the highest in the entire country. The pandemic claimed a total of 103 residents at the Memorial Veterans Home in Edison and 89 at the Paramus Veterans Memorial Home, according to New Jersey's Department of Health. The state to this point has paid nearly $70 million to settle la…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'FIGHT CLUB': NJ Prison Officer Who Brutalized Inmates Sentenced To 2½ Years In Federal Prison 'FIGHT CLUB': NJ Prison Officer Who Brutalized Inmates Sentenced To 2½ Years In Federal Prison
'Fight Club': NJ Prison Officer Who Brutalized Inmates Sentenced To 2½ Years In Federal Prison UPDATE: A now-former New Jersey corrections officer must spend the next 2½ years behind bars for brutalizing inmates through what one victim described as a “fight club.” John Makos, 42, of Millville, took advantage of areas in the kitchen at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg out of the view of surveillance cameras where inmates during and after their work shifts were beaten by him, colleagues and fellow prisoners, federal authorities said. In one instance Makos “watched and did not attempt to intervene when multiple inmates pinned a victim-inmate to the floor and, while the inmates restraine…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce
Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce Uber will forfeit nearly $1.8 million to more than 1,000 passengers with disabilities and refund double the amount of wait time fees to more than 65,000 others to resolve a federal complaint, authorities announced. Uber will also furnish an additional $500,000 to others harmed by the practice and will also waive wait time fees for certified riders with disabilities going forward, the Justice Department said Monday. The agreement settles federal allegations that the ride-hailing giant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, authorities said. The double-money-back part of the deal coul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman 'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman
'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman A New Jersey man admitted that he sent racist texts to a Maryland woman threatening to hurt her and her family, federal authorities said. "I know where you live now, I'm coming to rape your family," Michael Marotta, 26, of Sewell (Gloucester County) texted the woman using an anonymizing messaging service, they said. Marotta "used racial epithets" in the texts, which included "eat my bullets," according to an FBI complaint. Taking a deal from the government rather than face trial, Marotta pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday, March 8 to making threatening interstat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Alleged Police Brutality Victim From Paterson Arrested After Eluding, Resisting, Sheriff Says Alleged Police Brutality Victim From Paterson Arrested After Eluding, Resisting, Sheriff Says
Alleged Police Brutality Victim From Paterson Arrested After Eluding, Resisting, Sheriff Says An alleged Paterson police brutality victim fled a traffic stop and then scuffled with Passaic County sheriff's officers who tracked him down at a nearby deli, authorities said. Osamah Alsaidi, 21, was stopped for an unspecified violation on Madison Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. Alsaidi "argued with the officer and then fled the scene in the vehicle," the sheriff said. Officers spotted the vehicle outside the Grab & Go Deli and found Alsaidi inside the Getty Avenue store, Berdnik said. They had to subdue him "after he trie…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Black NJ Teen Pinned In Viral Video Hires Lawyer Who Repped George Floyd, Breonna Taylor Black NJ Teen Pinned In Viral Video Hires Lawyer Who Repped George Floyd, Breonna Taylor
Black NJ Teen Pinned In Viral Video Hires Lawyer Who Repped George Floyd, Breonna Taylor The nationally renowned civil rights attorney who represented the families of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery has been retained by the New Jersey teen pinned to the ground and handcuffed by police during a mall fight. Benjamin Crump announced he has been retained to help 14-year-old Z’Kye Husain, who he said was standing up for a middle schooler being bullied by an 11th grader at the Bridgewater Commons last Saturday. The video shows officers forcefully pinning Z’Kye to the ground with their arms and legs handcuffing him, while the white teen involved in the fi…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident
Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident A Paterson police officer beat a 19-year-old Arab-American man and then lied about it, a federal grand jury charged. Officers Kevin Patino, 29, violated the civil rights of the victim, according to the indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Osamah Alsaidi was walking with his hands in his pockets the night of Dec. 14, 2020 when Patino and Officer Kendry Tineo-Restituyo approached him, the U.S. attorney said. What they didn’t know was that area surveillance cameras were recording the incident (see below). “Patino grabbe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
3 Ewing Township Police Officers Indicted Federally For Assaulting Handcuffed Suspect, 16 3 Ewing Township Police Officers Indicted Federally For Assaulting Handcuffed Suspect, 16
3 Ewing Township Police Officers Indicted Federally For Assaulting Handcuffed Suspect, 16 One former and two current Ewing Township police officers surrendered to federal agents on Friday after they were indicted on civil rights charges following a recorded assault on a handcuffed juvenile nearly four years ago, authorities said Friday. Current Officers Matthew Przemieniecki, 43, of Hamilton and Justin Ubry, 33, of Burlington and retired Lt. Michael Delahanty, 51, of Robbinsville all used "unreasonable and excessive" force in the Jan. 5, 2018 incident, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Officers who pursued the 16-year-old boy after he stole a car and then crashed a car…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Correctional Employees Indicted In Beating Of Federal Detainee Who Squirted Liquid At Them NJ Correctional Employees Indicted In Beating Of Federal Detainee Who Squirted Liquid At Them
NJ Correctional Employees Indicted In Beating Of Federal Detainee Who Squirted Liquid At Them Four Essex County correctional employees were indicted by a grand jury on civil rights charges in the beating last summer of a federal detainee. The indictment returned in Newark charges Officer Damion James, 41, with assaulting the pretrial detainee at the Essex County Correctional Facility, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Sgt. Herman Pride, 51, Sgt. Jennifer Whitley, 38, and Lt. Nicholas Palma, 46, were all charged in the indictment with failing to intervene to stop the Aug. 17, 2020 assault, she said, adding that Whitley also was charged with submitting a false report. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver An angry South Jersey police officer doused a drunk driver with pepper spray twice after he’d been handcuffed, then filed a false report about the incident, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday alleges. Another officer had handcuffed the disruptive driver and was beginning to put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle at a local gas station when Bridgeton Police John Grier III “grabbed a large can of OC spray and pulled out the pin,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Grier, 49, of Cedarville, told the officer to “step back,” then asked the driver, “Do you want to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen
Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen A retired South Jersey police chief whose racist rants made international headlines must spend the next 28 months in federal prison for lying to the FBI about assaulting a black suspect. Frank M. Nucera Jr., 64, of Bordentown was convicted in October 2019 of making false statements to FBI agents who were interviewing him about what was the alleged violation of the 18-year-old suspect’s civil rights during an arrest. Nucera is also awaiting a retrial in U.S. District Court in Camden on additional charges of hate-crime assault and depriving the suspect’s civil rights. The former chief must s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement 'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement
'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement A presentation by a federal official to a Bergen County high school class about “police misconduct” has drawn the ire of some parents and law enforcement alike. 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 a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit
Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit Passaic County’s prosecutor on Tuesday took control of the Paterson Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division following the civil rights arrests of two city officers by the FBI.  Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes “will have full oversight” over the division, which is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct against members of the department, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in a joint announcement with her. By so doing, she will “ensure that current and future investigations are conducted thoroughly and fairly, and that officers who engage in misconduct are he…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FBI Charges Paterson Officers With Civil Rights Violations In Beating Of Arab-American Resident FBI Charges Paterson Officers With Civil Rights Violations In Beating Of Arab-American Resident
FBI Charges Paterson Officers With Civil Rights Violations In Beating Of Arab-American Resident Two Paterson police officers beat a 19-year-old Arab-American man and then lied about it, said federal authorities who charged them with violating the victim's civil rights. Officers Kevin Patino, 29, surrendered to federal agents Tuesday morning and was expected to be followed by Kendry Tineo-Restituyo, 28, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Both are charged with “depriving a victim of his Constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by law enforcement officers and with filing a false police report,” Honig said. ****** IN ADDITION: Passaic County’s prosecu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Central Jersey Prosecutor Investigates Arrest Of Teen Bicyclist After ACLU Complaint Central Jersey Prosecutor Investigates Arrest Of Teen Bicyclist After ACLU Complaint
Central Jersey Prosecutor Investigates Arrest Of Teen Bicyclist After ACLU Complaint The Middlesex County Prosector is investigating the alleged arrest of teenager in Perth Amboy for riding "an unregistered bicycle," authorities said.   His bike and several others were seized by police.  In a Twitter post by Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Sinha questioned the local arrest of a teenager for an alleged bicycle violation.   Sinha wrote: "This is Perth Amboy, NJ. Are the police really arresting kids over bike registrations? Does it really require this many officers to address whatever situation this is? Police CANNOT contin…

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by Jon Craig
News
Philadelphia Police Requested Federal Agents To 'Infiltrate' BLM Protests, Emails Show Philadelphia Police Requested Federal Agents To 'Infiltrate' BLM Protests, Emails Show
Philadelphia Police Requested Federal Agents To 'Infiltrate' BLM Protests, Emails Show The Philadelphia police department has asked federal agents to ‘infiltrate’ social justice marches last June, according to emails obtained by DC think tank Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. A Philadelphia police sergeant asked a Drug Enforcement Agency agent to assign personnel to “infiltrate crowds for intel purposes” on June 2, the emails say. Within 30 minutes of receiving the email, the DEA agent obtained approval from Principal Deputy DEA Administrator Preston Grubbs -- the agency’s second highest ranking official -- to conduct “covert surveillance from within prot…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
LAWSUIT: Jersey City Men Shot By Police In Fireworks Incident File Federal Suit LAWSUIT: Jersey City Men Shot By Police In Fireworks Incident File Federal Suit
Lawsuit: Jersey City Men Shot By Police In Fireworks Incident File Federal Suit A pair of men shot by police in a 2019 fireworks incident have filed a federal suit against Jersey City and some of its officials. Devonte Moore and Shaquan Rush were in a group of young men shooting Roman Candles at each other in the Arlington Gardens Public housing complex on July 1, 2019, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said. Three police officers fired 22 rounds into the group, thinking the fireworks were guns after Moore pointed a candle at the officers, the HCPO said. Both Moore and Rush were hospitalized.  The pair have filed a federal suit that names the officers, forme…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Ramsey Police Chief Says Protest Leader Was Warned 2X Before Charges, Group Demands Concessions Ramsey Police Chief Says Protest Leader Was Warned 2X Before Charges, Group Demands Concessions
Ramsey Police Chief Says Protest Leader Was Warned 2X Before Charges, Group Demands Concessions Ramsey’s police chief said he's justified in charging the founder of a local protest group with disorderly conduct for blocking traffic during a recent downtown demonstration. Nicholas Haas had already received two written warnings for blocking the roadway during other marches when he led members of the Ramsey Alliance for Social Equality (RASE) up East Main Street on Jan. 10 “without requisite approval,” Police Bryan Gurney said. Haas "did not heed either the multiple written warnings…nor his own words stating he would notify the Ramsey Police beforehand on any events in the street,” Gurne…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit
Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit A troubled but resolute Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton on Sunday said that he agrees with anti-ICE protestors but emphasized that "inciting chaos for the sake of chaos will not be tolerated." "What occurred yesterday was not a peaceful protest. It was not a productive act of political expression," the sheriff said during a news conference Sunday outside the jail in Hackensack. "What we saw yesterday was not, in the words of my hero, John Lewis, 'good trouble'." Cureton corrected social media errors -- noting, for example, that "tear gas was not employed" and that pepper spray was di…

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by Jerry DeMarco