Concerns Of Safety Postpone Bridgewater Town Hall Following Police Mall Investigation

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater is postponing its previously scheduled town hall meeting for "safety" reasons following a viral video involving the township police and their handling of a teen mall fight.

"In light of the volume and nature of communications that have been received by our Township staff and Police Department, the decision has been made, in the interest of protecting the safety of the public and staff, to postpone the Town Hall meeting scheduled for this evening," according to a statement released by the township on Wednesday.

The statement was released five hours before the scheduled town hall addressing the township's road improvement plan was to be held.

"Based on the nature of these communications and the number of prospective attendees, the Township believes that it cannot reasonably guarantee the safety of the attendees and staff if the scheduled Town Hall were to proceed," according to the township.

The township is still planning to reschedule this Town Hall meeting in a venue and in a format that "facilitates an earnest community discussion on this topic."

However, it will not be rescheduled until after the investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office is concluded.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office is leading the investigation into the incident at the request of Chief Paul Payne with the full cooperation of the Bridgewater Police Department.

The investigation was started after a viral video began circulating earlier this week showing a fight between a white teen and a Black teen at the Bridgewater Commons mall. The video also shows township police officers kneeling on and handcuffing the Black teen while the white teen is left sitting on a couch. Read More: Cops Criticized After Stopping Teen Fight At Bridgewater Mall

This has prompted Gov. Phil Murphy to speak out over the incident.

"Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I'm deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video. We're committed to increasing trust between law enforcement and the people they serve," Murphy said on Tuesday. Read More: Murphy 'Disturbed' By Bridgewater Cops' Handling Of Mall Fight

The New Jersey chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization, is also calling for the Bridgewater officers involved to be immediately removed from the police force pending an investigation.

"The time for the Governor and Attorney General to put a stop to this type of behavior by the police is NOW," said the organization.

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