ACLU seeks federal probe of Newark police

NEWARK, N.J., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Newark, N.J., police persist in abusing the public under Mayor Cory Booker, earning public distrust, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday.

The ACLU said it would file a 96-page petition Thursday asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the city police department, The New York Times reported.

Police scandals are an old story in Newark. The city's 1967 riot, which left more than 20 people dead, was triggered mainly by black anger at the police. The ACLU suggested little has changed since then.

The petition says excessive use of force "has left citizens dead, permanently injured and otherwise damaged." The group said police officers who resist the misconduct become targets as well.

"And it has left innocent Newark residents distrustful of the police, unsure whether an encounter with them will lead to them being protected and served or beaten and arrested," the ACLU concluded.

Booker, who is black and grew up in a white suburb, was elected mayor in 2006, replacing Sharpe James, who was subsequently convicted of corruption. Booker, who was a Rhodes scholar, promised police reform, but the ACLU said its analysis has found little change.

Esmeralda Diaz Cameron, a Booker spokeswoman, told the Times in an e-mail the petition is "frivolous." She said the ACLU relied heavily on lawsuits over incidents that happened before Booker took office.