South Jersey Mother Praises Siren Policy Change, Says More is Needed

Michelle Harding called Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton’s new policy for responding to emergency calls about three months after her 10-year-old son was killed after being hit by a Franklin Township Police Officer who was responding to an emergency call “the beginning of a bigger change that is needed,” the Courier Post reports.

She said she is happy to see the change initiated in Gloucester County, but said she would like to see the policy expanded statewide, according to the report.

Under the new policy, dispatched police patrol vehicles will be required to use emergency warning devices (lights and sirens) when exceeding a road’s posted speed limit by 20 miles per hour or more.

Police departments will be permitted to impose the emergency device requirement at a speed less than 20 miles over the posted limit but not more than 20 mph faster than the limit.

The new policy is to be implemented by all police departments in Gloucester County by May 1.

Violations will be subject to the disciplinary process in place in each police department.

Franklin Township Patrolman Nicholas Locilento was going 74 mph when he was responding to a call for an unruly juvenile on Dec. 28, 2014.

Under the old policy, police officers are not required to activate their emergency warning devices when responding to non-emergent police responses.

This is a non-emergency call requiring an immediate response to prevent incidents from escalating into situations that may require a higher level of police response.

He hit 10-year-old Matthew McCloskey while McCloskey was crossing Route 47. McCloskey was pronounced dead at the scene.

In January, Locilento was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident, but Dalton said his office would undertake a review to see if revisions should be made in non-emergent police responses are needed. He said he would specifically look at the use of warning devices.

Six days after he was cleared, Harding announced her intent to sue Franklin Township over her son’s death.

Harding, her daughter Alexis and and Melanie Beasley, whose stepsons witnessed McCloskey’s death, have started a non-profit funded by the Matthew McCloskey Memorial Fund at PNC Bank to help families who lost children to tragedy, as well as children witnesses, according to the report.

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