Bike Incident Discussed at the Perth Amboy City Council Meeting

The NAACP and Black Lives Matter were in attendance and spoke at the Perth Amboy City Council meeting on April 28th 2021. Perth Amboy Area Branch NAACP membership was in attendance. President Rev. Donna Stewart asked the City Council, why was the Black teen singled out for arrest by the Perth Amboy Police Officer? Rev. Stewart said the youth was in fact a teen because their name hasn’t been released in the media. She talked about the over policing witnessed in the video and the escalation of enforcement of a low level bike riding offense, resulting in the arrest of a Black teen. She said we must address how the Black community becomes the target of enforcement and escalation, and becomes in danger and subject to violence. The video showed after a safety stop by Perth Amboy Auxiliary Police, the situation escalated where other officers confiscate youths bikes over not having Bike registrations and a Black juvenile was handcuffed and taken away in a Police car, after he surrender his bike. Another member of the NAACP spoke, and said they reached out to Mayor Caba for a meeting to discuss community policing policies and youth engagement.

NAACP Metuchen/Edison branch member Stuart Grady spoke at the meeting. He asked to meet with the City Council to discuss solutions like implicit bias training, de-escalation techniques and enhancement of community policing and youth programs.

The Perth Amboy Civic Trust, Perth Amboy Branch NAACP, Frontline Youth, and the YMCA have been working in Perth Amboy for months to pass a de-escalation advisory board in Perth Amboy to advise on public safety issues.

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