Vice-Mayor Louis De Stefano listens to the concerns of protestors after the Town Meeting. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Dan Moffett
About a dozen friends, relatives and supporters of a Haitian student turned out at Manalapan Town Hall on June 24 to protest against what they believe is racial profiling by police.
“This is about racism,” said Wilfredo Madrigal. “Manalapan needs to end its discrimination and its profiling.”
Madrigal, a Lake Worth resident and brother-in-law of Junior Vertus, led the group of protesters outside the building, then came inside to make his complaints to town commissioners. He called for the firing of Police Chief Carmen Mattox over an incident that occurred in August when the ID card of Vertus, a Seagull Academy student, was found in the La Coquille Villas garage.
Manalapan police officers visited the student’s house twice looking for Vertus but he was not home. The officers told his family that they wanted an explanation about how the ID card got in the building.
“When you find a lost ID card, you mail it back to the person,” Madrigal said. “You don’t go harassing a person’s family. Unless they’re Haitian.”
Manalapan resident Kersen De Jong has cited the incident as an example of racial profiling — one of many, he says — and has filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
De Jong also has complained that the town unjustly reprimanded and is now trying to fire one of the investigating officers in the Vertus matter, David Hul, after he accused Mattox of making discriminatory remarks about Haitians. The town says it wants to terminate Hul because he mishandled an incident at a local restaurant in February.
In November, the town called in the West Palm Beach Police Department to make an independent review of the Vertus case. Internal affairs investigators Sgt. Michael Deighan and Lt. Theadore Swiderski filed a 50-page report in January that found no evidence of misconduct by Hul or Mattox, but that did recommend changes to the way the town handles public records requests for emails.
The report also said that Manalapan police quickly established that the ID card was simply lost and no criminal activity had occurred.
The town also hired the West Palm Beach law firm Ward Damon to review the Vertus incident. In June, attorney Jeffrey Pheterson filed a report that backed Mattox and criticized Hul for not bringing forth his accusations against the chief in a timely manner.
“The credibility resolution is resolved clearly in favor of Chief Mattox,” Pheterson wrote. “The allegations are determined to be unfounded.”
Mayor David Cheifetz says the investigations have cleared Mattox and the department of misconduct.
“There has been an internal investigation, an outside firm has been hired, and Chief Mattox was completely exonerated,” said Cheifetz. “There was no case of racial profiling found. As far as this commission is concerned, the matter is closed.” Cheifetz went on to say that Mattox “is a wonderful public servant” and the town is fortunate to have him.
After the commission meeting, Vice Mayor Louis De Stefano met with several of the protesters in the parking lot and told them he was willing to work with them to improve relations. “Come see me,” De Stefano told the group. “I’m here all year. I’m happy to talk to you.”
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