The pastor of a local church says officer stopped him because he is black
By: David Weinstein
The pastor of Mount Zion AME Church in Little Rocky Hill filed a complaint last week against township police claiming a traffic stop in June reflected racial bias.
The Rev. Sherwyn James, 44, an African-American and graduate of the Yale Law School who lives in a section of Queens, N.Y., was stopped by police about 2 a.m. June 17 on Route 1 while driving south near the Red Roof Inn for driving too slowly. He was issued a summons for delaying traffic.
According to police, the Rev. James was traveling about 40 mph. The posted speed limit on Route 1 is 55 mph.
Patrolman Michael Rogers stopped the Rev. James and issued the ticket. The complaint, filed with the Police Department, names Officer Rogers.
Attempts to reach the Rev.James Wednesday at his home in Cambria Heights and at his church were unsuccessful.
"Our department takes these (complaints) very seriously," Capt. Michael Marosy said Wednesday, adding that he has fielded many phone calls about the incident.
"There will be a serious investigation into the complaint," he said.
South Brunswick Mayor Debra Johnson said Wednesday she is waiting for results of the Police Department’s investigation and will comment on the claim when the investigation is complete.
But Mayor Johnson said she had spoken with the Rev. James about his complaint.
"I think he is shocked and unhappy, and is going to demand just results," she said.
The department will take three or four weeks to investigate events surrounding the traffic stop, Capt. Marosy said. The department will not treat the complaint differently than any other civilian complaint.
A sergeant in the command staff will review the complaint and actions taken by the police officer. After the initial review of the findings, the report will then be given to Capt. Marosy, as the Internal Affairs officer, for further review.
Then, Capt. Marosy will make a recommendation to Police Chief Michael Paquette, who has final authority on the complaint.
"This is our normal course of events," Capt. Marosy said.
Capt Marosy could not recall a motor vehicle stop based on racial profiling in the South Brunswick Police Department. That is not how the South Brunswick Police Department works, he said.
Racial profiling is a practice in which police allegedly conducting motor vehicle stops on minorities, based on the assumption that minorities allegedly are more likely to be involved in crimes. The New Jersey State Police in the last year has undergone a change of leadership after a state investigation found that some officers in the force engaged in this practice.
Capt. Marosy repeated that this practice does not occur in South Brunswick.
"Our officers are thoroughly trained in cultural diversity and race issues, and are very capable in this respect," Capt. Marosy said.
"I’d be very surprised if one of our officers acted unprofessional or out of line in any way," he said.