Both sides claim victory in settlement of lawsuit African-American youths claimed police treated them inappropriately BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer MANALAPAN - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey announced last week that Manalapan's insurance company will pay $275,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit the organization filed in August 2004 on behalf of three African-American teenagers. Mayor Andrew Lucas said the two Manalapan police officers who were involved in the case were vindicated because the complaint against them was dismissed. He called the settlement a business decision on the part of the insurance company. The lawsuit alleged that during an encounter with six youths in June 2003, the officers searched the three African-American youths without justification and berated them while their three white friends were told to go home. In a statement issued last week on behalf of the ACLU, attorney John O'Connor of Anderson, Kill and Olick, who represented the plaintiffs as a volunteer attorney for the ACLU-NJ, said, "We hope this settlement will send a message to all towns and police forces that discrimination is not only wrong and illegal, but also very costly." ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs said, "New Jersey needs to address racial discrimination in policing. Incidents like this are evidence that we need greater oversight at the state and local levels." The plaintiffs were Diamond Yorker, Randy Reina and Sean Anderson. The police officers involved in the incident were patrolmen Steven Turner and Peter Chalfin. Yorker, now 20, said in a statement released by the ACLU that "Manalapan needs to be more careful about hiring and training their officers, since the job of the police is to protect and serve, not to harass and discriminate." A visibly angry Manalapan police Capt. Lou Moreto addressed those present at the Township Committee's March 28 meeting about the ACLU's announcement earlier that day that a settlement had been reached in the matter. The ACLU held a press conference on March 29 to formally announce the settlement. According to Moreto, a settlement was some weeks off and he accused the ACLU of being disingenuous in what he said was a premature announcement of a settlement having been reached. Moreto said that night that he was not going to make comments on the merits of the litigation the ACLU brought against Manalapan, although he did say, "This department has never and will never tolerate racial profiling." Following the March 28 committee meeting, Moreto issued a statement to the News Transcript in which he again noted the department's commitment to a "high professional standard" and reiterated his condemnation of the allegations made in the action brought against the police department and the two officers. Moreto said it was hard to remain silent since the litigation started in August 2004 because, "This department holds itself to a high professional standard and truly believes it is inappropriate to discuss these issues in the media," noting it was "difficult to remain silent when one knows that the facts portrayed in the news conference are one-sided and factually inaccurate." Moreto said he believed the police department had been "vindicated" given that the charges against the two officers had been dismissed. He said, "Dismissed is the key word here. There is sometimes a lingering doubt in the mind of the public when someone is found not guilty that maybe they actually did what was alleged but they just got off on a technicality or beat the rap." Moreto said he believed the dismissal of the charges against the two officers individually was a voluntary acknowledgment that the offenses stated in the action did not occur as was originally claimed. The ACLU filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs in state Superior Court, Freehold, on Aug. 25, 2004. The complaint was later transferred to Superior Court, New Brunswick, because the father of one of the plaintiffs was employed with the Superior Court in Freehold. According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs, who are black, were with three white friends, Vincent Lynch, Brett Ecker and Nicholas Rodriguez, along Park View Way near the Bucks Head development playground at 10 p.m. June 21, 2003. At one point, two police cars stopped across the street from where the juveniles were standing and a pair of white police officers approached the six youths. The complaint states that the three black youths were subject to searches by the officers and that their white friends were not subjected to the same treatment. The complaint charges that "during the searches of Diamond and Randy, one of [the officers] said to the three boys who appeared to be white, in substance, 'You three go home. You don't have to see this.' " The three white youths did not leave the scene and, according to the complaint, the officers did not search, interrogate or detain the three white boys who were with the plaintiffs. Following complaints from the parents of the youths involved, the police department conducted its own investigation of the incident and ruled that the officers had not acted improperly. Moreto said the money being paid to settle the matter was not an admission of guilt on anyone's part, but was a "business decision to prevent the continuous legal expenses from increasing." Moreto said if a similar incident occurs he would "expect our officers to do exactly what (officers) Chalfin and Turner did that day. Just as we defended them, we would defend every officer who goes out and provides the professional law enforcement services this organization and this township want and deserve." In commenting on the settlement Mayor Andrew Lucas said, "We are thrilled that our police officers have been completely vindicated in this matter. They are exemplary officers that represent our fine police department, which was recognized just last evening by the state of New Jersey as being one of only 18 out of more than 500 in the state that has achieved accreditation. "Our officers always hold themselves to the highest standards of professionalism. The settlement paid by the township's insurance company was a decision solely to limit additional financial exposure to our residents. We believe in the innocence of our officers and would have welcomed a day in court to support them," Lucas said. noted the department's commitment to a "high professional standard" and reiterated his condemnation of the allegations made in the action brought against the police department and the two officers. Moreto said it was hard to remain silent since the litigation started in August 2004 because "This department holds itself to a high professional standard and truly believes it is inappropriate to discuss these issues in the media," noting it was "difficult to remain silent when one knows that the facts portrayed in the news conference are one-sided and factually inaccurate." Moreto said he believed the police department had been "vindicated" given that the charges against the two officers had been dismissed. He said, "Dismissed is the key word here. There is sometimes a lingering doubt in the mind of the public when someone is found not guilty that maybe they actually did what was alleged but they just got off on a technicality or beat the rap." Moreto said he believed the dismissal of the charges against the two officers individually was a voluntary acknowledgment that the offenses stated in the action did not occur as was originally claimed. The ACLU filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs in state Superior Court, Freehold, on Aug. 25, 2004. The complaint was later transferred to Superior Court, New Brunswick, because the father of one of the plaintiffs was employed with the Superior Court in Freehold. According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs, who are black, were with three white friends, Vincent Lynch, Brett Ecker and Nicholas Rodriguez, along Park View Way near the Bucks Head development playground at 10 p.m. June 21, 2003. At one point, two police cars stopped across the street from where the juveniles were standing and a pair of white police officers approached the six youths. The complaint states that the three black youths were subject to searches by the officers and that their white friends were not subjected to the same treatment. The complaint charges that "during the searches of Diamond and Randy, one of [the officers] said to the three boys who appeared to be white, in substance, 'You three go home. You don't have to see this.' " The three white youths did not leave the scene and, according to the complaint, the officers did not search, interrogate or detain the three white boys who were with the plaintiffs. Following complaints from the parents of the youths involved, the police department conducted its own investigation of the incident and ruled that the officers had not acted improperly. Moreto said the money being paid to settle the matter was not an admission of guilt on anyone's part, but was a "business decision to prevent the continuous legal expenses from increasing." Moreto said if a similar incident occurs he would "expect our officers to do exactly what (officers) Chalfin and Turner did that day. Just as we defended them, we would defend every officer who goes out and provides the professional law enforcement services this organization and this township want and deserve." In commenting on the settlement Mayor Andrew Lucas said, "We are thrilled that our police officers have been completely vindicated in this matter. They are exemplary officers that represent our fine police department, which was recognized just last evening by the state of New Jersey as being one of only 18 out of more than 500 in the state that has achieved accreditation. "Our officers always hold themselves to the highest standards of professionalism. The settlement paid by the township's insurance company was a decision solely to limit additional financial exposure to our residents. We believe in the innocence of our officers and would have welcomed a day in court to support them," Lucas said.