Racist, Bigoted Text Messages Swapped By Police In Monmouth County: Report

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Police officers in Marlboro and Freehold Township traded racist and bigoted text messages in 2022, messages that came to light recently during an unrelated investigation by a New York TV station.

ABC 7 On Your Side reported the messages were discovered after cell phone data was collected for a police-involved car crash. It is not clear how ABC 7 obtained the messages.

The report said the text messages included derogatory remarks and racial slurs about members of Black, Asian and Jewish communities. Officers were investigated and some were disciplined, the report said.

Patch has reached out to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for more information on the investigation.

After the texts were revealed, Marlboro Police Capt. Stephen Levy told Patch that the Marlboro Police Department fired one of their involved officers.

“Once our department was made aware of the allegations, the officer was immediately suspended,” Levy said.“A comprehensive and thorough internal affairs investigation was then conducted before the decision was made to terminate the officer.”

Freehold Township Police Chief George Baumann, in a reply to a Patch inquiry, said the department has no comment at this time.

Harrison Dillard, the president of the NAACP in Hunterdon County, told ABC 7 that he and multiple members of the NAACP met with Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago in December 2022 to discuss what happened, but never heard about any outcome of the investigation.

"Every officer should have been held accountable and their records should have been reviewed to see if they have disparately arrested people, pulled people over, using force against people," Dillard told ABC 7. "Whatever they did in their line of duty should have been examined."

In an online statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey (CAIR-NJ) condemned the text messages and the officers’ actions.

Selaedin Maksut, the executive director of CAIR-NJ, said that the revelation of the texts serve as a “stark reminder of the dangerous prejudices that some individuals in positions of authority may hold.”

“This kind of behavior is unacceptable in any workplace, and especially in law enforcement, where officers are sworn to protect and serve all members of society equally,” Maksut said. “Racism has no place in our police forces.”

CAIR-NJ called on the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to release the results of their investigation into the officers’ conduct and to examine their prior interactions with the public.

“It is critical that the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office ensure that all officers involved are held accountable not only for their offensive messages but also for their potential biases and actions during their duties,” the statement said.

To see the full report from ABC 7, you can read it here.