TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights has issued a Finding of Probable Cause against the Mount Laurel Police Department, alleging that officers failed to provide proper response services to Black residents who reported repeated race-based harassment.
According to the state’s investigation, the Mount Laurel Police Department (MLPD) received approximately 40 complaints from Black residents of the Essex Place Condominium Complex between 2020 and July 2021 concerning harassment by Edward Cagney Mathews. The complaints described verbal abuse, vandalism, racial slurs, and threats, yet officers allegedly failed to fully investigate the incidents or follow bias-incident protocols.
Two Black residents filed formal complaints with DCR, prompting a review of police reports, internal communications, and interviews with officers. Investigators concluded that MLPD was aware of Mathews’s actions months before his arrest and failed to intervene appropriately. In some cases, officers admitted avoiding contact with Mathews to prevent escalating tensions.
On July 2, 2021, Mathews confronted residents with racist language in an incident caught on video. Though charged that night, his arrest was delayed. He was taken into custody on July 5 amid widespread protest and later pleaded guilty to four counts of bias intimidation. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence.
“Bias incidents targeting residents based on race tear at the very fabric of our communities,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “It is deeply concerning to me that the Mount Laurel Police Department allegedly failed to recognize or respond appropriately to dozens of incidents.”
The DCR’s Finding of Probable Cause is not a final judgment, but it advances the case to a conciliation phase. If no agreement is reached, the matter may proceed to formal prosecution by the Attorney General’s Office.
