Was an incident at Lake Carnegie parking lot an assault?
By: Nick Norlen
A Princeton Borough resident’s complaint regarding an alleged "assault" by Princeton University’s Public Safety Department officers could lead to questions about how and what the university’s policing unit communicates with police departments in the municipalities it works within.
At Tuesday’s Princeton Borough Council meeting, the Rev. Martin Lombardo, a former Borough Council member, said that he has filed "an official complaint" regarding an incident that occurred May 17 at Lake Carnegie, which he described in a letter to Princeton Borough Police Chief Anthony Federico.
In it, the Rev. Lombardo said he was praying in his car when he was confronted by someone banging on his window.
He then dialed 911 because he assumed the individual was an attacker, the letter states.
"Just about that time, I noticed that the person attacking my car was wearing a Princeton University Public Safety Uniform," the letter reads. "There was no way that I was going to respond to a person out of control demonstrating such demonic behavior."
Although a second university officer arrived to ask for his driver’s license, the Rev. Lombardo then left the scene, only to realize later that he may have been sprayed with a substance that caused his eyes to burn, the letter says.
Chief Anthony Federico said Monday that he received the letter, but said the incident appears to have occurred in the township outside the borough’s jurisdiction.
"I’ve read it, and frankly there really isn’t anything for Princeton Borough police to do in this matter," he said.
In a letter to Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini, the Rev. Lombardo says he spoke to Princeton Township Police Chief Mark Emann last week.
"Chief Emann advised me that he could not help me even though the assault of the Princeton University Safety security employee took place in the municipality of Princeton Township," the letter says.
Chief Emann is out of the office this week and was unavailable for comment, but the letter to Mr. Bocchini also states that Chief Emann advised the Rev. Lombardo to file a complaint with the university’s Public Safety Office.
Although the Rev. Lombardo said he would prefer an outside, rather than internal, investigation, Chief Federico said the university Public Safety Office "could or should conduct an internal affairs investigation" if they receive such a complaint.
Chief Federico said he isn’t aware of whether university Public Safety officers recorded the alleged incident, but said "it depends on what actually happened."
He added, "I don’t exactly understand what happened here. Frankly, this is kind of a convoluted complaint."
If what occurred in the Rev. Lombardo’s account of the incident had occurred during an interaction with a borough police officer, he most likely would have been arrested for obstructing law enforcement, Chief Federico said.
He said the borough is in the process of working out communication issues with the university’s Public Safety office, which he said received certification to enforce laws as a police department more than a year ago.
"There’s some history behind this. Being that they’re located in three different jurisdictions, they’re required to file reports with the appropriate jurisdiction that they deal with," he said. "We do cooperate with them and we do help them with matters."
The Rev. Lombardo’s letter to Chief Federico also said he sent the complaint to the office of the university president.
University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt said Monday that the Rev. Lombardo has not sent the complaint directly to the Public Safety office.
"We continue to hear from third parties, but not from the individual himself. We attempted to reach out to this individual to understand his concerns, but we have not been successful," she said. "Our hope is that that can take place."
Public Safety Director Steven Healy could not be reached for comment.
Although he said it was unrelated to Mr. Lombardo’s "specific comments" Tuesday, Councilman David Goldfarb said he hopes the borough and its police officials can meet with the university’s Public Safety office "to discuss law enforcement issues on campus within the borough."
Chief Federico said he is scheduled to make a presentation to the county prosecutor "on this very issue" Wednesday.
The Rev. Lombardo also urged the creation of a "police civilian review regional board to oversee the university’s safety and security policies, use of weapons, behavior … and practices."
Chief Federico said Monday he "would not in any way support" such a board.

