Another racist battle coming out of New Jersey, only this time against the former Clark Township Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso, who was recorded using the n-word and other derogatory terms while instructing police officers to keep Black people out of the town, the New York Daily News reports.
In a lawsuit from New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, Bonaccorso was allegedly heard on tape telling leaders at the Clark Police Department to “keep chasing the spooks out of town,” a racial slur against Black people, that he has used before. Currently serving three years of probation following a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit official misconduct and forgery, the ex-Republican mayor once praised an officer for a routine traffic stop involving a Black person. “Good for you, pulling over that [N-word] — keep them out of town,” the suit alleges he said.
He once allegedly boasted about Clark being known for its racist ideologies. The town recently made headlines for finally firing two cops accused of using the n-word in racist rants and collecting six-figure salaries on taxpayers’ dime while on suspension.
“You know why a lot of liberals stay out of Clark, is we’re labeled as a racist town and they want nothing to do with that,” Bonaccorso was heard saying to law enforcement leaders in 2019.
“You guys keep doing your job so we don’t have no problems.”
orwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">Consequences of Bonaccorso and several cops came five years after the Union County Prosecutor’s Office took over the Clark Police Department following community members’ complaints of misconduct. Sparking an investigation, the AG’s office revealed evidence of discriminatory policing practices in a 2023 report and pushed for a civil rights investigation.
Bonaccorso, who resigned early last year due to corruption charges, served as mayor from 2000 to 2025 in the predominantly white town. According to The Gothamist, an analysis of Clark Police Department vehicle stop data found over 37% of drivers stopped between 2015 and 2020 were Black or Hispanic, despite the demographics making up under 11% of Clark’s population.
The suit alleges “the odor of marijuana” and low-level administrative or equipment violations were used to disproportionately target Black and other non-white drivers over the years. Even outside of the township’s boundaries, Black and Hispanic drivers were targeted, with more than 53% of drivers stopped by Clark cops. “Through overt racial animus and discriminatory policing practices, Clark violated New Jersey’s civil rights laws and the New Jersey Constitution,” Platkin said in a statement.
The convicted former mayor labeled the lawsuit as “bullsh*t” as the township’s former police chief, Pedro Matos, and current police director, Patrick Grady, were listed as additional defendants.
Evidence supports Clark’s long-standing reputation as a “sundown town,” defined in history as a place where local leadership used intimidation and aggressive policing to make sure “Black people and other people they perceive to be non-white stay out of town when possible and leave town before dark.”
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