A group of over 100 residents turned out for Wednesday night’s City Council meeting to address alleged police abuse against a young man belonging to one of the city’s most prominent families.

Photo courtesy of Nicolle Harris

Rev Nicolle Harris shared the incident via a social media post, saying:

“This past Tuesday night [Nov 20], the young man pictured here was riding his bicycle home from work. He was stopped by the Asbury Park Police near the corner of Elizabeth and Springwood Avenue. He was stopped for allegedly not having a light on his bicycle. This stop resulted in him sustaining injuries to his head and face at the hands of police officers.”

Harris, a city native and a pastor who manages Price Memorial AME Zion Church in Atlantic City, said the young man Raequan Bowers, 24, her cousin, was riding his bicycle to save money. She implored to City Council to launch an independent investigation.

“They did not take him to the hospital; they released him from the police station at [1 am] to walk all the way to Sixth Avenue with his bike that has a light on it, that works,” Harris said Wednesday night. “…For 24 years I have done my very best to protect him but Tuesday night Icould not protect him from the police in this city and that is not fair. He was trying to get home from work.  how does that end up with him having a charge for resisting arrest. How do you get arrested for not having a [light on your bike] when that is a $15 ticket.”

Police Chief David Kelso said the department is following the complaint process, sending the body camera video and incident report up to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Spokesman Christopher Swendeman said, “the case was referred to us by the Asbury Park Police Department and it is currently under review. That’s all we can discuss at this time.”

Response Wednesday to the incident brought to light concerns over everything from laws aimed at criminalizing the underserved population and speeding to the ongoing request for a Citizen Police Review Board and Social Justice Commission. Pam Lamberton, a member of the Save Asbury’s Waterfront grassroots group fighting for responsible development in the northeast region of the boardwalk and founding member of the social justice Dialogue Group, was the first to address the incident before the governing body.

“We support and demand an independent investigation of this incident,” the Ocean Avenue resident said. “…since the Prosecutor’s Office oversees the police, it appears they are investigating themselves. We would like local jurisdiction.”

Lamberton said although she was told a local [civilian] review board would be powerless due to restrictive state laws, she implored the City Council to create a Social Justice Commission.

“We need to find another way,” she said. “Where do underserved and underrepresented residents turn for the justice that seems to elude them.”

Adrienne Sanders, president of the Neptune/Asbury Park NAACP, called for the officer(s) involved to be ‘benched, put on suspension, or at the very least on desk duty.

“Although this incident made it to Facebook, there are other incidents that have occured in this city,” Sanders said. “With all due diligence, you owe this city a lot more than police brutality; and it’s mostly African Americans that are subject to it.”

Sanders went on to implore the administration to stop criminalizing ‘everything,’ citing the recent balloon ordinance, proposed panhandling legislation, parking tickets and trespassing citations as a direct hit against the African American, Latino and poor community.

“…Stop using poor people to fund the city budget,” the Asbury Park resident said.

Complete Streets founding member Polli Schildge said city residents use bicycles as their main mode of transport. The grassroots group, currently in the midst of a bike light donation campaign, has been working for equity and safety for the most vulnerable residents.  

“The largest number of residents is in southwest quadrant according to data from the last census,” she said. “Most don’t own a car. Our focus must be on community support to those who walk or ride bikes…I truly believe this city has the potential to be a national model of a welcoming, safe and inclusive city. I really do believe our residents, administrators and those working in city agencies are good and are looking for ways to make this happen.”

Pat and Carrie McGeehan spoke to speeding on their Grand Avenue block.

“We have a family of six, we have four kids, and we are very, very concerned with the traffic on Grand,” he said. “Something has to be done. When Main Street turns to one lane, Grand is going to become that much more of a cut through.”

Rev John Bradley, president of the Asbury/Neptune Ministerial Alliance said they are demanding the Nov. 20 report.

“Tell us what happened to this young man,” he said. “We will report this to our churches throughout Asbury and Neptune.”

Mayor John Moor responded by saying, “We do not know what happened. It is an internal investigation that was kicked up to the Prosecutor’s Office so nobody could say Asbury Park is investigating their own. We asked them to expedite it, we don’t want this to linger. The officer…is on desk duty until this is resolved.”

Members of the Asbury Park and Neptune community went on to make reference to what they call a systemic problem of police abuse against residents in Asbury Park, including past incidents involving the Harris family.

“Every black person in this city can tell you a story of police brutality that they have experienced or know someone has experienced,” Asbury Park Black Lives Matter founder Jennifer Lewinsky said. “I can tell you ten personal experiences.”

Emily Harris, Nicolle’s mother and wife of Dan Harris, a Zoning Board of Adjustment member, said she brought suit years ago after her dog was shot by a police officer in her own backyard. She also made reference to her husband being stopped a few years ago and held by a gun pointed at his head by a police officer who mistook him for a suspect the department was seeking.

Internal Affairs officer Sgt Michael Barnes said while several police abuse allegations have been made this past year, none were substantiated.

“No excessive force complaints have been sustained this year,” Barnes said. “We have had several allegations made but none have been sustained.”

The allegation comes on the heels of lowered crime rates across the city. According to the FBI Unified Crime Report, Asbury Park had zero incidents of bias hate crime in 2016 and 2017. The Nov 23 report shows a 14.9 percent decrease in reported crimes across the city.

But according to NJ Media’s Force Report, compiled following a 16 month investigation, the Asbury Park Police Department uses at higher rate than 365 of the 538 municipalities. The site shows 725 reported uses of force from 2012 to 2016, or 42.4 incidents per 1,000 arrests. It also shows 683 reports of force being used during resisting arrest incidents.

Resident Duanne Small, who served on 2012-13 Charter Study Commission for the change of government, said one of the issues brought forth at the time was police brutality.

“The reason why this is happening is because we are being denied the economic opportunities that everybody else around here is enjoying,” Small said. “We have a brutal police force. These young police [officers] are very aggressive and disrespectful. They go out here, they stop young black man everyday, search and pat them down, run their name, ain’t got nothing, they take off and they are not even writing reports. In the state of New Jersey the police can’t demand your I.D. unless he is about to give you a charge. These young boys are fed up. If they can hurt each other, do you think they are going to care about the police that is hurting them…We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

Deal Lake Drive resident Linda Phillips asked for better training for new police officers.

“You can’t put new police into a neighborhood like that where they don’t know anybody,” she said. “This is not going to go away. This is just one incident of many. It just can’t go on.”

Deal Lake Drive resident Kerry Butch said she sees the incident as an opportunity for leadership and vision.

“What kind of community do we want to live in,” she said. “We have an opportunity to build community right here and right now…Let’s change this around, let’s have the kind of community that everyone came to Asbury Park to have.”

In the end, Mayor John Moor asked the community’s help in putting pressure on the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to get the investigation done as soon as possible.

“There was a body camera and [it] should tell everything,” Moor said. “The Council wants the body camera to be public. We don’t want the Prosecutor to say no the body camera is not public information so help us with that. You have our word – we heard you, we agree with you. Help us to get that done as quick as possible. I apologize for what has happened. We don’t know the facts until we get the report from the Prosecutor’s Office, we know less than you know.”

Bowens’ family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover his legal fees for his upcoming Dec 14 court date for resisting arrest.

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