Jurors returning to mull ex-police chief's hate crime trial
Frank Nucera, who retired as Bordentown Township police chief while under FBI investigation, was charged with civil rights and hate crime charges.
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - A jury resumes deliberations Monday in the federal trial of a white former New Jersey police chief accused of slamming a handcuffed black man's head into a doorjamb three years ago.
Authorities allege that 62-year-old Frank Nucera, former Bordentown Township police chief, approached the 18-year-old prisoner from behind in September 2016 and smashed his head into a doorjamb while the suspect was being escorted from a hotel. They allege a fellow officer then recorded him making a series of derogatory comments.
Nucera retired in January 2017 amid an FBI investigation. He faces charges of hate crime assault, deprivation of civil rights and lying to FBI agents.
Defense attorney Rocco Cipparone contends that other officers wanted to get rid of Nucera because of his tough disciplinary policies.