September 19, 2001
Trenton,
NJ — Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto announced today that his
office has concluded its investigation into allegations that Hamilton Township
Police Chief Richard Taylor physically assaulted a woman during the arrest of
her brother 10 years ago. According
to Prosecutor Giaquinto, the investigation has revealed that the allegations of
misconduct against Chief Taylor are unsubstantiated.
Prosecutor
Giaquinto stated:
It
was clear from the beginning of this investigation that if misconduct was found,
it would not be prosecutable due to the fact that the statute of limitations had
clearly expired. Nonetheless, in the interest of public confidence in the police
department, the allegations were investigated to determine if misconduct or
inappropriate conduct had occurred.
The
prosecutor’s office was asked to conduct an investigation into alleged
misconduct committed by Chief Richard Taylor, Hamilton Township Police
Department, in connection with an armed robbery investigation and arrest that
took place in January 1991 at the Cedar Garden Liquor Store.
According to Clifford Van Syoc, attorney for former Hamilton Police
Officer James Pizzullo, he possessed an audiocassette tape and transcript of the
audiocassette tape containing a purported conversation between Chief Taylor, his
wife and mother-in-law. It is
alleged that, in this tape-recorded conversation, Chief Taylor states that he
“stomped” one of the armed robbery suspects and hit the suspect’s
“sister.” It is further alleged
that in this recorded conversation, Chief Taylor also states, “they both just
got the shit kicked out of them and their sister got punched in the mouth and
locked up.”
PROCEDURAL
STEPS
The
investigation was assigned to Lt. John Frederick of the Mercer County
Prosecutor’s Office. It consisted
of an examination of the original police reports and documentation detailing the
armed robbery; a review of the audiocassette provided by Mr. Van Syoc; attempts
to enhance the audiocassette; attempts to obtain a higher-quality audiocassette;
and interviews with the alleged victim; her brother, Edward Berbon; and Chief
Taylor.
REVIEW SUMMARY
A review of police reports and court documents
revealed the following:
On
January 3, 1991, Edward Berbon and Kenneth Bohnert entered the Cedar Gardens
Liquor Store located at 661 Route 33 in Hamilton Township. Berbon placed a knife
against the body of an employee and Bohnert placed a knife against the body of
the owner. The suspects took approximately $250 out of the store’s cash
register and fled on foot. A few moments later, Hamilton Township police arrived
at the scene and observed both men on Cannon Drive. One officer arrested Bohnert
while another pursued Berbon, who fled when he saw the officers. Berbon was
arrested a few moments later by two additional officers on Gary Drive. Only one
report mentions Berbon’s sister being at the scene of the arrest. That report
states that she was issued a township ordinance for interfering with officers
while they were arresting her brother, causing a disturbance.
Both
Edward Berbon and Kenneth Bohnert pleaded guilty to the armed robbery. Berbon
was sentenced to 15 years incarceration with five years minimum parole
ineligibility. Berbon is currently
under indictment for a March 1, 2001 second-degree robbery by physical force and
third-degree theft from a person that also occurred in Hamilton Township.
Bohnert was sentenced to five years probation. The ordinance violation
against Berbon’s sister was dismissed.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Prosecutor Giaquinto stated that his office has
found the allegations to be unsubstantiated due to the following findings:
1.
The audiocassette
·
The
allegations in this investigation stem from a transcript provided by Mr. Van
Syoc. The transcript of the alleged conversation is difficult to verify due to
the extremely poor quality of the audiocassette tape supplied to this office. It
was substantially inaudible, although some conversation can be heard.
·
Our office
also tried on multiple occasions to secure a higher quality audiocassette tape
from Mr. Van Syoc’s office, with telephone requests as recent as September 5.
These attempts were also unsuccessful.
2.
Interviews with alleged victim and Berbon do not corroborate allegations
from the transcript
·
In an
interview with the prosecutor’s office, the alleged victim, Berbon’s sister,
states she pulled up to the scene of the her brother’s arrest, Gary Drive, and
was on the wrong side of the road. She claims police were kicking her brother
and stomping on him. She also
claims Chief Taylor struck her on the arms and put the handcuffs on too tight.
This statement does not corroborate allegations from the transcript stating that
she “got punched in the mouth.”
·
In an
interview with the prosecutor’s office, Berbon states he did not witness Chief
Taylor or any other officer assault his sister. He further stated that he did not know his sister was at the
scene of his arrest. Berbon added
that Chief Taylor and others used excessive force upon him by kicking and
punching him several times over his body while he was handcuffed, lying on the
ground. As a result of the beating,
Berbon claims his eyes were black and blue.
3. The arrest photograph of Berbon, obtained by the
prosecutor’s office and taken on the
date of the aforementioned incident, depicts a normal appearance.
·
The
photograph shows no swelling or “black and blue eyes” consistent with
Berbon’s allegations. There appears to be a slight scratch or abrasion above
the left eye that, if it was caused by the arrest, would not be inconsistent
with the use of force described in the police version of the events.
4.
Interview with Chief Taylor
·
In an
interview with the prosecutor’s office, Chief Taylor indicated that on the
date of the alleged incident, he was on the road when he heard a radio
transmission concerning the apprehension of the Cedar Gardens robbery suspects.
He proceeded to Gary Drive where he observed several Hamilton Township
police officers on the scene. Chief
Taylor observed officers chase and apprehend Berbon.
Chief Taylor then indicated that he observed Berbon resisting arrest and
subsequently being wrestled to the ground by an officer.
At this point Berbon continued to struggle with the officers and Chief
Taylor assisted in the arrest by placing his foot on Berbon’s back to keep him
stationary while handcuffs were being applied.
During this time, a then unidentified female, subsequently determined to
be Berbon’s sister, came on the scene screaming and yelling.
The female then ran over to Berbon, who was on the ground, and disrupted
the arrest. Chief Taylor states he
then grabbed the female and pushed her over to another police officer.
Chief Taylor directed the officer to keep the female away from the arrest
scene. He denies handcuffing the
female and, if she was handcuffed, it was done by another officer. Taylor emphatically denied punching the female and maintained
that his only contact was to pull her away from the arrest site.
He stated he was only on the scene for a brief period of time.
Chief Taylor denied having any contact with Berbon or the woman prior to
or subsequent to the alleged incident. Chief
Taylor also indicated that he could not recall a conversation with his wife
about that event. However, he cannot deny that such a conversation took place,
stating he sometimes exaggerated events of the day in conversations with his
wife.
5.
No documentation at the time of
incident
·
At the time
of the incident, neither the alleged victim nor her brother made any allegations
of excessive force.
·
No internal
affairs complaint was filed with the Hamilton Township Police Department.
·
No complaint
was lodged with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
·
No complaint
was lodged with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office or any other known
authorities.
·
No medical
service was required by either the alleged victim or her brother.
·
No civil
lawsuit was commenced by the alleged victim.
·
No
information was provided by fellow police officers that Chief Taylor used
excessive force.
In
summary, Prosecutor Giaquinto stated:
· An analysis of the evidence and totality of the
circumstances does not substantiate the allegations of excessive force against
Chief Taylor. This investigation is now closed.
· This is the second time our office has investigated
allegations against Chief Taylor that have proved to be unsubstantiated.
Although this review was justified in the public interest, in the future
this office can ill afford to investigate allegations of 10-year-old conduct
arising out of rancorous lawsuits within a police department.
The
public should take heart that, notwithstanding the much-publicized allegations,
the Hamilton Township Police Department has always been cooperative and
professional with this office and, in our opinion, has delivered effective
police services to the citizens of Hamilton Township and Mercer County.
· Insinuations or allegations of possible misconduct
arising from the contents of the tape, not disclosed until some 10 years after
the fact, hinder an effective investigation and are unfair to all of the parties
involved.