Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) have filed a complaint in New Jersey Superior Court, alleging that Clark Township and the Clark Police Department (CPD) engaged in systematic discrimination and harassment of Black and other non-white motorists. The complaint claims violations of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the state constitution.
The DCR’s investigation covered 2015 through March 2025, when the Union County Prosecutor’s Office (UCPO) ended its oversight of CPD operations. Findings indicate that discriminatory policing practices were instituted under former Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso and CPD leadership.
According to the complaint, before UCPO took over CPD operations in July 2020, officials instructed officers to keep Black people out of Clark Township. It alleges that former Mayor Bonaccorso directed police leadership to engage in discriminatory policing, using a racial slur when referring to Black residents. Officers then implemented practices aimed at achieving this outcome.
“Elected officials and law enforcement leaders must treat every single person, no matter their race or national origin, with dignity and respect. That’s the bare minimum. But for many years before the Union County Prosecutor’s Office took over operations in 2020, leadership in Clark Township and the Clark Police Department completely and utterly failed to meet that basic obligation,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Through overt racial animus and discriminatory policing practices, Clark violated New Jersey’s civil rights laws and the New Jersey Constitution. While we have already taken substantial steps to address these issues, today’s complaint gives voice to the many New Jerseyans who have suffered discrimination in Clark and will ensure that Clark’s leadership never allows it to happen again.”
The filing is part of ongoing efforts addressing misconduct allegations within Clark Township and CPD. In July 2020, UCPO assumed control of police operations until March 2025. In November 2023, following investigations by UCPO and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), a report was released referring bias allegations to DCR. After UCPO ended its oversight in March 2025, Attorney General Platkin established a state monitorship led by the Department of Law and Public Safety’s Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation.
Expert statistical analysis cited in the complaint shows that Black and Hispanic drivers were stopped and searched at much higher rates than white drivers prior to UCPO’s intervention. Some disparities persisted after 2020 but data from 2020–2024 show improvements coinciding with changes in policing practices.
The complaint details three main practices leading to alleged discrimination: focusing traffic enforcement on roads connecting Clark with neighboring communities with larger Black and Hispanic populations; prioritizing low-level administrative violations over moving violations; and using false claims about marijuana odor as grounds for vehicle searches.
“New Jersey has some of the nation’s strongest civil rights laws, but for years leadership in Clark brazenly violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and violated individuals’ Constitutional rights,” said DCR Director Yolanda N. Melville. “We cannot and will not allow the repugnant behavior of public officials in Clark Township and the unlawful practices that the Clark Police Department engaged in for years.”
Statistical data from 2015–2020 showed that while Black and Hispanic residents made up less than 11% of Clark’s population, they accounted for over 37% of recorded stops by CPD—and more than half outside township boundaries involved Black or Hispanic drivers. Searches occurred at rates significantly higher for these groups compared to white drivers.
The LAD prohibits places open to the public from discriminating based on race or other protected characteristics; it also bars policies disproportionately affecting certain groups.
Leadership named as defendants include former Mayor Bonaccorso, former Chief Pedro Matos, and Police Director Patrick Grady.
The State seeks an injunction against further discrimination by Clark Township or CPD, monitoring by DCR, as well as damages for victims.
This action is part of broader responsibilities held by the New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, which oversees legal enforcement across all counties according to its statutory mandate. The agency works statewide to uphold laws related to public safety through various divisions focused on enforcement, oversight, legal support services—including representation—and consumer protection initiatives.
Anyone with information about discrimination by CPD can contact DCR’s Affirmative Enforcement Unit.
For more information or to file a complaint with DCR regarding discrimination or bias-based harassment in employment, housing, or public accommodations throughout New Jersey—including actions involving local police—visit the official website.
