Police decline request for involvement
By: Nick Norlen
Princeton University’s Public Safety Office is now conducting an internal investigation of a complaint alleging an "assault" by one of its officers, Associate Director of Support Services Duncan Harrison said Wednesday.
The Rev. Martin Lombardo, a Princeton Borough resident and former Borough Council member, has claimed in letters to various police and university officials that he was "attacked" while praying in his car at Lake Carnegie on May 17.
He said he called 911 that day when he was confronted by someone banging on his window who he later identified as a university public safety officer.
Despite being approached by a second university officer who asked for his driver’s license, the Rev. Lombardo then left the scene, he said, noting that he only later noticed that he may have been sprayed with a substance that caused his eyes to burn.
Mr. Harrison said the office also received a letter from Mr. Lombardo on Wednesday, but said it did not indicate if Mr. Lombardo was willing to heed prior requests by the office to schedule a meeting with him.
In a previous letter sent to Mr. Harrison, the Rev. Lombardo said the "Borough or Township Municipal Police investigating my legal complaint against the Princeton University Public Safety Department shall have my full cooperation, not the private institution department against whom I have filed my complaint."
However, both Chief Anthony Federico and Township Police Chief Mark Emann have indicated that the investigation is the responsibility of the university’s public safety office. The incident took place in Princeton Township.
Although the incident is not mentioned in university Public Safety Department’s daily online crime log, Chief Federico said previously that if the incident the Rev. Lombardo described had occurred in the borough, he most likely would have been arrested.
Chief Federico said Wednesday that he met with county prosecutors to give a presentation on issues involving how the borough police department interacts with the university’s Public Safety Department.
He declined to specify what issues were discussed until the prosecutor’s office completes an evaluation of his presentation, which could take approximately a month, he said.

