Sheriff Cureton, Activists Tell Their Side Of Bergen Jail Protest

HACKENSACK, NJ — In separate news conferences Sunday, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton and a coalition of activists from New Jersey and New York City painted different pictures of who was responsible for escalation at a Saturday protest, but found common ground on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies of the Trump administration.

Speaking on Sunday morning in Hackensack, Cureton addressed the events of Saturday night, when protesters and law enforcement officials from 17 municipalities and three other county or state organizations clashed, resulting in the arrest of nine protesters, eight from New York City.

The protests have been happening daily since Nov. 27, as activists gather in support of hunger strikers in ICE custody. Recently, those protests have been met with increased law enforcement presence, and two consecutive days of arrests this weekend.

READ MORE: VIDEO: Protesters, Police Clash Again At Bergen County Jail

Cureton, who leaned heavily on his history of activism — including a stint as president of the Bergen County chapter of the NAACP — said he was disheartened the protests became physical, going so far as to quote the late John Lewis.

"What occurred yesterday was not a peaceful protest. It was not a productive act of political expression," said Cureton, who did note that, in large part, the protesters who gathered on Saturday were there with good intentions.

Cureton, said by 3 p.m. roughly 150 protesters were present outside the jail and demonstrators became "increasingly unruly." Law enforcement officials on the ground used "tactical smokes" in an effort to disperse the crowd, but said no tear gas was used.

Video of Cureton's remarks is below:

In a point that has been denied by activist groups from across the state, Cureton said protesters hopped barricades, threw bricks and used pepper spray against officers. He also said two law enforcement officers were bitten.

"I didn’t witness anyone throwing any bricks," said Lupita Romero, during a news conference hosted by the Abolish ICE NY-NJ Coalition.

Further, in a news release from the coalition, the group said law enforcement, not protesters, served as agitators Saturday. They also reinforced their message of solidarity for the hunger strikers in ICE custody.

"While police in Bergen County spent the majority of their Saturday afternoon and evening responding to peaceful protests with violence, we cannot and must not lose sight of the fact that people detained at the Bergen County Jail are nearly one month into a hunger strike," the group said.

Video from the scene — posted by multiple groups including those from Wayne, Ridgewood and Teaneck — didn't show any items being thrown at police, but did capture the early moments of heightened physicality.

Here is a video of the scene – viewer discretion advised. The opinions of the poster do not reflect Patch:

During a news conference hosted by the coalition, Jon Moscow, the co-chair of the Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition, said the "violence" shown by police during yesterday's protests will only serve to make more people aware of what's happening in the jail.

Moscow, of Teaneck, again urged county officials to end or suspend the contract with ICE.

"There are times when you must make moral and ethical choices, and this is one of them," he said.

Cureton has now positioned himself as an interesting figure in this fight for freedom among ICE detainees and activists.

During his Sunday news conference, he objected to the policies of the organization in a detailed condemnation of their actions.

"I personally believe that the policy of the outgoing administration is divisive and wrong," said Cureton. "Separating kids from their parents, targeting witnesses, or victims of crimes, trying to end DACA and detaining people who have never committed a crime simply because of their immigration status, goes against our values."

Activists, however, have criticized Cureton for the conditions inside the jail, and have detailed accounts from ICE detainees which say there is a lack of clean drinking water, and a rat infestation. An ICE-ERO spokesperson denied these claims.

Speaking during the coalition news conference, Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi NJ, compared the conditions in Bergen County to those ICE detainees are facing in Louisiana.

"I’ve been fighting against the ICE contracts in New Jersey for almost 14 years now and I’ve never seen anything like this," she said, adding that Bergen County Jail conditions are "among the most horrible" she’s seen during those years.

Cureton posted to his Facebook page that he visited the hunger strikers this week, and said cleanliness and access to drinking water were of no issues in a "majority" of instances.

Protests are scheduled to continue at the jail Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.