By: Richard L. Smith
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the state Division on Civil Rights have filed a civil complaint alleging that Clark Township and the Clark Police Department engaged in years of discriminatory and unconstitutional policing that disproportionately targeted Black residents and other non-white motorists.
The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court, follows a lengthy investigation by the Division on Civil Rights examining policing practices from 2015 through March 2025, when the Union County Prosecutor’s Office concluded its state takeover of the department.
Investigators found that discriminatory traffic enforcement practices were not isolated incidents, but part of a broader pattern directed by township leadership and senior police officials.
According to the complaint, Clark Township officials and police leadership, under the direction of longtime former Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso, instructed officers to aggressively police Black motorists with the intent of discouraging their presence in the township.
Investigators allege that senior officials openly expressed racial hostility and that police practices were structured to reflect those views.
State officials say the Clark Police Department adopted enforcement strategies designed to disproportionately stop and search Black and Hispanic drivers.
These included concentrating traffic enforcement on roadways connecting Clark to the Garden State Parkway and nearby municipalities with larger Black and Latino populations, prioritizing minor vehicle equipment and paperwork violations over safety-related offenses, and relying on questionable claims of marijuana odor to justify vehicle searches.
Statistical analysis cited in the complaint shows stark racial disparities. 
Although Black and Hispanic residents account for less than 11 percent of Clark’s population, more than 37 percent of recorded traffic stops between 2015 and 2020 involved Black or Hispanic drivers.
More than half of all stops made outside Clark’s municipal boundaries involved Black or Hispanic motorists.
During the same period, Black drivers were searched at nearly four times the rate of white drivers, while Hispanic drivers were searched at more than twice the rate.
While some disparities persisted after the Union County Prosecutor’s Office assumed control of the department in 2020, investigators noted measurable improvements between 2020 and 2024, suggesting that the most severe practices were tied to earlier leadership decisions.
Attorney General Platkin said the conduct outlined in the complaint represents a fundamental violation of New Jersey’s civil rights protections and constitutional guarantees.
State officials emphasized that law enforcement agencies are required to serve all residents fairly and without bias, regardless of race or background.
Division on Civil Rights Director Yolanda N. Melville described the alleged behavior as a blatant abuse of authority and said the state would not tolerate racially discriminatory policing practices anywhere in New Jersey.
The lawsuit names Clark Township, the Clark Police Department, former Mayor Bonaccorso, former Police Chief Pedro Matos, and Police Director Patrick Grady as defendants.
The state is seeking court-ordered reforms, continued monitoring by the Division on Civil Rights, and financial compensation for individuals harmed by the alleged discriminatory practices.