Ex-Black Panther, NJ Cop Killer, To Be Freed

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the parole of Sundiata Acoli, who was convicted for the 1973 murder of a state trooper.

Acoli, a former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army activist, was convicted of murdering state trooper Werner Foerster on the New Jersey Turnpike in East Brunswick.

The court’s majority opinion said the state’s parole board did not meet its obligation to show that Acoli, 85, would commit another crime after release. The Supreme Court voted 3-2 to reverse the state parole board’s decision to deny Acoli parole.

“No member of the Court disputes that Acoli committed a horrific crime. The issue, however, is whether Acoli, after nearly five decades of imprisonment, has satisfied the statutory demands that govern his parole eligibility,” Justice Barry Albin wrote for the majority.

“However despised Acoli may be in the eyes of many because of the notoriety of his crime, he too is entitled to the protection of the law - and to the fair and impartial administration of justice. That is what our commitment to the rule of law requires.”

The majority ruled that due to his advanced age, verbal renunciation of violence, more than two decades infraction-free in the federal prison and other reasons, “it is difficult to imagine” Acoli would “present a substantial likelihood to reoffend.”

Acoli has been eligible for parole since 1993 but was denied six times.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, Gov. Phil Murphy said he was “deeply disappointed” with the court’s decision.

“In 1996, Governor Whitman signed a law ensuring that anyone who murders an officer on duty will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole, and I profoundly wish this law had been in place when Acoli was sentenced in 1974,” Murphy said.

“Our men and women in uniform are heroes, and anyone who would take the life of an officer on duty should remain behind bars until the end of their life.”

Suffering from health complications, Acoli had asked the state to release him from his life sentence on grounds of compassionate release.

Those who support his release say Acoli has been a model prisoner and has served 85 percent of his sentence. They also said he has dementia.

Among those supporting Acoli’s release were the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the Black Police Experience, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, and the Grand Council of Guardians.

In a joint brief filed in August 2021, the groups argued that due to his age and as someone serving a life sentence, Acoli had a low recidivism risk and would not be a threat to public safety. They argued that “the Parole Board abused its discretion by drifting into considerations of punishment beyond its statutory authority.”

Law enforcement strongly opposed Acoli’s release, including the state Attorney general’s office.

“I’m grateful to the attorneys in my office who opposed the release of Sundiata Acoli and I am disappointed that he will be released on parole,” Acting AG Matthew Platkin said in a statement, Tuesday.

“Under New Jersey law today, if an individual murders a law enforcement officer on duty he is never eligible for parole – a decision that reflects the heinous nature of that crime.”

About midnight on May 2, 1973, Acoli, born Clark Edward Squire, along with Joanne Chesimard (now known as Assata Shakur) and Zayd Malik Shakur were driving on the Turnpike in the East Brunswick area, when they were pulled over by Trooper James Harper, who was soon joined by Trooper Foerster.

Harper called Foerster for backup after discovering Acoli had a gun, according to reports. During a gun battle, Chesimard wounded Harper, while Foerster was shot when Acoli’s gun fired during a struggle.

Although details of the shooting have been debated, with police saying Acoli fired first, he has maintained that he was shot, lost consciousness and does not remember what happened that night.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Lee Solomon said that Acoli’s claim that he “blacked out” was “clearly fabricated.”

“In our view, the majority diminishes the role of the Parole Board by making this Court the finder of fact,” Solomon wrote. “We consider that decision a disrespect to our fundamental principles of appellate review and a grave injustice to the victim, State Trooper Werner Foerster, and his family.”

But activists and supporters say Acoli's release has been long overdue.

“We applaud the New Jersey Supreme Court in granting Mr. Acoli’s freedom and correcting the parole board’s improper application of the law by denying his petition for release after serving more than 49 years in prison,” Soffiyah Elijah, Civil Rights attorney and one of the primary advocates for Acoli, said in a statement.

“We strongly hope that Mr. Acoli’s freedom will bring attention to the thousands of elders like him trapped in the New Jersey prison system.”

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