Judge rejects claim that ‘white guilt’ led jurors to convict former South Jersey police chief
It should come as no surprise that race and racism were discussed by the jurors along with their personal experiences, U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler said.
A judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss the conviction of former Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera Jr., who alleged that some white jurors were bullied by black jurors into finding him guilty.
U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler rejected a defense motion saying race unfairly played a role during deliberations. The jury of nine white and three black members convicted Nucera on a count of lying to the FBI.
» READ MORE: Mistrial declared in hate-crime assault, civil rights case of former New Jersey police chief
Nucera also was charged with hate-crime assault for allegedly slamming the head of a black teenager against a doorjamb during an arrest at a Bordentown Township hotel.
“Given the nature of the charges in this case, given the nature of the evidence, nobody should be surprised that the discussions of the jury focused on race,” Kugler said. “That’s what this case has been about, and it will continue to be about, is race.”
In addition to rejecting the motion for a new trial, the judge refused to seal court documents that identify four white jurors who told defense lawyer Rocco Cipparone that they believed they had to convict Nucera on at least one charge or they would be labeled racists. The jurors’ names were already public, he said.
In interviews with The Inquirer, the black jurors have said that race was an issue in their deliberations but that they acted properly. One said that she shared her experience as an African American woman, including her life in the South.
» READ MORE: 'White guilt'? Jurors in hate-crime trial of ex-South Jersey police chief felt pressured in verdict, lawyer says.
Nucera, 62, was convicted in October of lying to the FBI. After deliberating for 45 hours over eight days, the jury was deadlocked on one count each of hate-crime assault and civil rights violation, and a mistrial was declared.
Prosecutors charged Nucera with using excessive force against Timothy Stroye, then 18, of Trenton, in September 2016 and with assaulting him because of his race. Police were dispatched for a report that Stroye and his girlfriend were swimming in a hotel pool and had not paid their bill.
Authorities said the chief had a history of spewing racial hatred, including speaking about joining a firing squad to mow black people down, comparing them to ISIS, and talking of sending police dogs to intimidate black spectators at high school basketball games.
» READ MORE: Ex-Bordentown Township police chief referred to blacks as 'you people,' a fellow officer testifies
A fellow officer secretly made 81 recordings at the station and elsewhere during which Nucera used racial slurs. Several rank-and-file members broke the “blue wall of silence” and testified against Nucera.
During the three-week trial, jurors heard Nucera on a recording telling a fellow officer that President Donald Trump was ”the last hope for white people” and expressing concern that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would ”give in to all the minorities.” They also heard secretly made recordings in which the longtime law enforcement officer used slurs against blacks, Mexicans, and Asians.
In an appeal filed two months after the verdict, Cipparone said black jurors ignored evidence and shared their personal experiences with racism, and white jurors believed they had to convict Nucera on at least one charge. He also alleged that a black juror failed to disclose anti-police sentiments that likely would have kept her off the jury.
”They caved to pressure not based on evidence,” Cipparone argued Wednesday. Nucera and members of his family were in the courtroom but did not comment. Cipparone said an appeal is planned.
» READ MORE: Jury foreman in deadlocked trial of N.J. ex-police chief: 'We realized we just weren’t going to get anywhere'
Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Lorber said jurors should be allowed to talk freely in the jury room, even if it is unpleasant. Accusations of racism by jurors do not warrant a new trial, especially if not directed at Nucera, she said.
”Jurors are going to get heated,” Lorber said.
Nucera is to be sentenced for lying to the FBI on March 10. Federal guidelines call for up to six months in prison, but the judge said he would consider a stiffer sentence that could include prison time as a deterrence in light of Nucera’s position as a law enforcement officer. Nucera is scheduled to be retried March 16 on the two remaining charges.
“This is not John Q. Citizen lying to the FBI,” Kugler said. ”It’s a career law enforcement officer, the chief of police, lying about what he had to know was a very important investigation.”
Nucera is free on bail. He resigned as chief of the 25-member police department and a dual role as township administrator in January 2017 after learning he was being investigated. His $8,800-a-month pension has been suspended pending the outcome of the trial.