New Jersey Police Chief Demoted to Patrolman for Instructing Officers to Racially Profile Black People

By Ricky Riley | Published on August 5, 2016 | Updated on August 5, 2016 7:49 PM EDT

After internal emails from 2014 revealed racist policing, the Wyckoff, New Jersey police chief was demoted Wednesday for instructing officers to racially profile Black people from a neighboring town.

According to NBC New York 4, Benjamin Fox was demoted to patrolman and will be suspended for a 180-day period.

Atlanta Black Star reported in March that the Acting Bergen County Prosecutor, Gurbir Grewel, investigated the emails.

The American Civil Liberties Union’s New Jersey chapter sparked the investigation after they released the December 5, 2014 emails calling for officers to racially profile.

Here is the 2014 email below:

“Profiling, racial or otherwise, has its place in law enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. Black gang members from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That’s why we check out suspicious Black people in white neighborhoods. It’s insane to think that the police should just ‘dumb down’ just to be politically correct. The public wants us to keep them safe and I’m confident that they want us to use our skills and knowledge to attain that goal.”

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