Westfield Cop Accused Of Racially Profiling Driver: Video Footage

WESTFIELD, NJ — After accusations that a Westfield Police officer was guilty of racial profiling while pulling over drivers for speeding, video camera footage of said traffic stops were released.

Two members of the Westfield Police Department, Sergeant Preston Freeman and Lieutenant Nicole Stivale, filed a lawsuit in March against the department, citing issues of race and gender discrimination, as well as racial profiling.

Read more: Westfield Police Accused Of Racial Profiling, Discrimination: Lawsuit

Specifically, Officer Christopher Forcentino was accused in the lawsuit of going easy on a white driver for driving 40 miles per hour over the speed limit while ticketing a Black driver going 20 miles per hour over the limit during the same night shift.

Tapinto Westfield obtained body camera footage from public records requests of the traffic stops detailed in the lawsuit. The video footage can be viewed below:

In the first stop, which takes place on Jan. 22, Forcentino is seen pulling over a Black man and ticketing him after saying he was driving 22 miles per hour over the limit. Forcentino then tells the driver that he will not give him a speeding ticket but that his license has been expired since October of 2020.

The driver tells the officer that he renewed it online, but Forcentino says it is still coming back expired.

"Instead of me giving you a speeding ticket, I'm just going to give you a ticket for having the expired driver's license," Forcentino says in the video. "It's $54 and no points [on your license.] It doesn't raise your insurance."

Later that night, at 6:32 a.m., Forcentino conducts another stop — this time a white driver in front of a cemetery on East Broad Street. In the video, Forcentino tells the driver that he's driving 65 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone.

The officer asks if the driver had anything to drink that night, and he responds he had a "glass of wine."

After taking his license and registration, Forcentino does not issue the driver a ticket.

"You've got to slow down, that was pretty quick. Just be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt," Forcentino says in the video.

The dash cam video also shows that the white driver did not immediately stop for the officer when he flashed his lights, and he briefly swerves over the double yellow lines. On body camera footage, Forcentino later tells a fellow officer, who arrived to back him up, that he thought the car was stolen.

According to the lawsuit, when Sgt. Freeman questioned Forcentino about the discrepancy between these two motor vehicle stops, Forcentino said that he did not have to issue a ticket for speeding and that the driver was a "nice guy."

Neither drivers said they had any points on their licenses, according to the video.

Patch reached out to town spokesperson Kim Forde for a comment on the lawsuit, and she provided the following statement:

"As previously stated, the officers who filed the complaint are both currently facing internal disciplinary action as a result of an Internal Affairs investigation. The Westfield Police Department’s Internal Affairs standard operating procedure fully complies with the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy and Procedure, and the Town has no additional comment at this time on this pending litigation."