SOMA Parents Group: Release Police Video Of ‘Fireworks Incident’

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A group of parents and activists in Maplewood and South Orange are calling for township officials to release police video footage of a confrontation with several local teens that broke out following the Maplewood's 4th of July fireworks celebration last year.

The records requests – made by local news organization Village Green and Columbia High School teacher Thomas Whitaker – were made prior to a precedential New Jersey Supreme Court decision on Tuesday that clarified rules about the public release of police dashcam videos, according to a statement from the SOMA Black Parents Workshop.

As part of its Tuesday ruling, the Supreme Court decided that the North Jersey Media Group was entitled to a dashcam video recording of a fatal police shooting that took place in 2014. See the full court decision here.

“Footage from police cameras without accessibility to the public is nothing more than surveillance,” said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas, praising the court’s decision.

On Wednesday, the SOMA Black Parents Workshop issued a call for town officials to release video footage of what it called “the 2016 Independence Day fireworks incident,” during which a Maplewood police officer pepper sprayed multiple teens and other local youth were arrested.

Maplewood police stated that officers attempting to break up a fight were “significantly outnumbered,” and were rushed by a group of individuals that had already been ordered to disperse.

• See related article: Maplewood Cop Pepper Sprays Teens After Fireworks Celebration

“The unanimous ruling yesterday by the New Jersey Supreme Court in NJMG v. Lyndhurst that police videos are public records leaves room for no excuses for the Township of Maplewood to withhold the audio and video recordings,” the group stated.

“The public should not and cannot be kept in the dark regarding the management and operation of police departments. We have a right-to-know. It’s time for the Township of Maplewood to act in the public’s interest and comply with the court ruling and move toward full transparency.”

Earlier this month, the SOMA Black Parents Workshop issued the following statement about the records requests:

“The decision by the Maplewood Township Council to hire a firm to investigate the incident involving the township police and Black youth after the Independence Day fireworks display on July 5, 2016 is a glass half empty. The township’s refusal to release the police audio transmissions and videotapes of the incident is a betrayal of the public’s trust and further erodes confidence in the local police department.

“For over a year we have waited for the truth to be revealed concerning the escorting of black children out of town at the conclusion of the fireworks display. While the Essex County Prosecutor chose not to bring any criminal charges against the officers involved, that decision does not absolve the officers of wrongdoing. The township’s decision to hire a firm to investigate the incident suggests there is sufficient suspicion that police acted inappropriately. This is not, however, a criminal probe and there is no justification to not releasing the audio and video records of that evening. Failing to do so is a slap in the face of our young people, and their parents, who have waited for over a year for this matter to be resolved. The lack of transparency on the part of the township is appalling and undermines building community-police relations at a time when there is such widespread mistrust of law enforcement in the African-American community.”

• See related article: ‘No Video For You’: N.J. Supreme Court Rules Against Citizen Watchdog
• See related article: Millburn Board Of Education Sued For Denying OPRA Request
• See related article: Port Authority Now Subject To OPRA Requests

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