State lawsuit claims New Jersey town's former mayor directed police to keep minorities out

A New Jersey town whose former mayor was once heard denigrating Black people on secret recordings made by a whistleblower is now facing a state lawsuit that claims he and local police officials directed officers to keep minorities out of the community. The complaint, filed by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the office's Division on Civil Rights, names former Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, suspended town police chief Pedro Matos and the current police director Patrick Grady as defendants. It claims the town's leaders “systematically discriminated against and harassed Black and other non-white motorists.”