Police chief's email defending profiling prompts investigation

WYCKOFF, N.J. (AP) — A police chief is taking a temporary leave while prosecutors investigate whether he told his officers that racial profiling, including checking out “suspicious black people in white neighborhoods,” has a place in policing.

Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and acting Bergen County prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said in a statement their offices are investigating an email from Wyckoff police Chief Benjamin Fox.

“On its face, the email appears to be a clear violation of the Attorney General’s policy strictly prohibiting racial profiling by police officers,” they said in the statement. “We are conducting a full investigation and will take all appropriate measures.”

At an recent emergency township committee meeting, Fox asked to go on administrative leave while the investigation is pending.

The December 2014 email was released by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Tuesday. The group says it obtained it anonymously.

The email says that profiling has its place in law enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. It says that officers should “check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods” because “black gang members” from a nearby town commit burglaries in Wyckoff, a mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York.