Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox is under investigation over a 2014 email instructing his department officers to “check out suspicious black people”.
The American Civil Liberties Union distributed a copy of the email on Tuesday (March 22). Fox’s email read, “ Don’t ask the police to ignore what we know. Black gang members from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That’s why we check out suspicious black people in white neighborhoods. White kids buy heroin in black NYC neighborhoods.”
In an emergency session, the Wyckoff Township Committee met to discuss issue. The chief suggested he would like to meet with the investigators to explain that ‘he nor [Wyckoff Police Department] has ever condoned or engaged in profiling,” according to The Record.
The Attorney General will investigate whether or not Fox ordered his officers to participate in racial profiling.
