SOMA Residents ‘Outraged’ At Police Use Of Force (VIDEOS)

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — As municipalities across New Jersey prepare to celebrate their annual “National Night Out” events on Tuesday, civil rights activists and teens in Maplewood are preparing for an emotion-laden protest against their local police department.

On the evening of Aug. 1 – as other towns host barbecues and inflate bounce houses for their National Night Out events - a grassroots coalition of community groups and local youth from Maplewood and South Orange plan to mobilize near the Maplewood Police and Court Headquarters at 1618 Springfield Avenue.

From there, it’s on to DeHart Park on Burnett Avenue for a protest against the local National Night Out event, followed by an appearance at the Maplewood Township Committee meeting around 8 p.m.

Their outrage stems from allegations of “excessive force” used against several black teens last year, according to a statement from the SOMA Black Parents Workshop, one of the groups spearheading Tuesday’s rally.

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According to the group, emotions are running deep after recently released police videos allegedly showed Maplewood officers using excessive force against a group of black youth after the township’s Independence Day fireworks event on July 5, 2016.

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

Following the event, police told local news outlets that officers arrested four teens, three from South Orange and one from Maplewood, after arriving on the scene of a large group of disorderly youths.

Some of the teens allegedly resisted arrest and refused to leave the area, Maplewood Sgt. Christopher Black told The Village Green.

No officers were injured during the incident, but Black reportedly told Essex County Place that an officer was forced to use oleoresin capsicum - commonly known as pepper spray.

“Officers attempting to break up the fight were significantly outnumbered, and were being rushed by a group of individuals that had already been ordered to disperse,” Black told Essex County Place.

“This group was charging at officers as the officers were attempting to separate other individuals engaged in fighting,” he added.

• See related article: Maplewood Police Investigate Alleged Pepper Spraying Of Teens

But according to the groups organizing Tuesday’s rally - including the SOMA Black Parents Workshop, the MapSO Freedom School and SOMA Justice – police haven’t provided the full story of what happened that evening.

‘OUTRAGE’ AND CALLS FOR CHANGE

According to a statement from the SOMA Black Parents Workshop, many community members are “outraged” about officers’ reactions during the incident.

The group alleged:

“Under the orders of Chief [Robert] Cimino, the youth were forced by police to walk to the border of neighboring Irvington, as Cimino is heard on radio dispatch transmissions to push the youth into ‘their’ town and to ‘secure our borders.’ The youth were harassed, shoved, body-slammed, pepper-sprayed, punched and kicked as they were simply trying to return to their homes… in Maplewood and South Orange.”

The group said that some of its members are calling for Cimino’s resignation, while others are calling upon the New Jersey Attorney General to monitor and oversee the police departments of Maplewood and South Orange due to “numerous incidents of questionable conduct when interacting with black youth in both communities.”

Another local civil rights group, the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition On Race, stated that it “stands in solidarity with all those who were hurt and traumatized by the experience of being mistreated by the Maplewood police after the July 5, 2016 fireworks, and with those now witnessing this event on the released video.”

Read their full statement here.

The coalition wrote:

“The community has expressed concerns about the Maplewood Police Department’s objectionable interaction with persons of color over the years with little noticeable change. Our elected officials have a duty to demand that our police force be a full participant in this town’s goal to be racially inclusive. That means a police force that is itself diverse; undergoes rigorous, continuous anti-bias training; and reviews its practices and incidents on a regular basis—scrutinizing for possible biased behavior so it can be eliminated.”

Following the incident, local news organization Village Green and Columbia High School teacher Thomas Whitaker began pushing for the township to release police dashcam footage that captured the interaction between officers and the teens.

• See related article: SOMA Parents Group: Release Police Video Of ‘Fireworks Incident’

The videos were finally released last week, more than a year after the incident. Edited versions issued as a result of the OPRA request by The Village Green, Thomas Whitaker and MapSO Freedom School can be viewed below.

• Full versions and other video/photo footage of the incident can be seen here.
• Read the Village Green’s full report here.

WARNING: Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Additional video footage of the incident was posted to social media and can be seen below.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

YouTube screenshot via OPRA request by The Village Green, Thomas Whitaker and MapSO Freedom School