Attorney General (AG) Matthew Platkin NJ State Chief Law Enforcement Officer

CLARK, NJ – Clark Township Mayor Angel Albanese pushed back Thursday against a civil complaint filed by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, calling the lawsuit “frivolous” and politically driven as Platkin prepares to leave office.

The Attorney General’s Office filed the complaint on January 15, alleging misconduct within the township’s police department. In a public statement, Albanese said the claims misrepresent years of oversight and reform efforts and ignore prior findings that showed no systemic issues within the department.

According to Albanese, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office maintained oversight of the Clark Township Police Department for more than five years following what he described as “unfortunate and reprehensible comments” made by several employees nearly a decade ago. That oversight ended in March 2025, when the Attorney General’s Office assumed monitorship through its Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation.

Albanese said the state’s own reports at the time praised the department’s progress, citing a November 2023 document that found no evidence of bias-based policing or misconduct. He argued that those acknowledgments contradict the basis for the new lawsuit.

“The Attorney General himself, in writing, acknowledged not only a lack of any systemic problems requiring oversight but explicitly congratulated the Police Department,” Albanese said. “These acknowledgments make this lawsuit even more puzzling.”

Albanese added that the Clark Township Police Department remains committed to professionalism, respect, and integrity as it serves residents and visitors.

Clark Mayor Angel Albanese condemned the state’s new civil complaint against the township, calling it a political move that contradicts past findings of no systemic police misconduct.

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