Bergen NAACP Says Accountability Necessary Following Wyckoff Chief's Email, Report Says

WYCKOFF, N.J. — The Bergen County chapter of the NAACP said more accountability is needed if the township is to avoid another situation such as the one involving police Chief Benjamin C. Fox, The Record reported.

Chapter president Anthony Cureton spoke on the group’s behalf at a Township Committee meeting Tuesday and asked how the township planned to address the department’s lack of diversity moving forward, the report said. He said the chapter was not there to bash anyone and wants officials to come to a common ground regarding police department policies, according to the report.

Fox agreed to go on paid administrative leave March 22 after a December 2014 email in which he wrote that profiling, “racial or otherwise” has a place in law enforcement if used “fairly.” He also wrote that “black gang members from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That’s why we check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods.” Fox sent the letter to the entire department.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether Fox’s email was in violating of the state’s policy prohibiting racial profiling.

The New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union anonymously received a copy of the email in March and made it public.

Capt. Timothy Condon of the prosecutor’s office is monitoring the department. He is responsible for ensuring offices do not conduct racial profiling and that the department complies with state laws. Lt. Charles VanDyk is the officer in charge while Fox is on leave.

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