From [HERE] A white New Jersey police chief suspended after a video was released of mostly white officers kicking and punching Black teens after a town-wide holiday celebration likely won't be reclaiming his job.
Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca said Police Chief Robert Cimino, who was suspended over the summer following the release of footage from the July 5, 2016 incident, is in talks with the town to retire from his position.
The agreement should be ready in time for the township committee to vote on it at its Oct. 3 meeting, DeLuca said.
"After the settlement is approved, the township committee will undertake a national search for a new police chief," DeLuca said.
Cimino, who came under fire for the police response to alleged fights and rowdy behavior that broke out among groups of teens, has not spoken publicly since his suspension over the summer.
Cimino's attorney Jeffrey Garrigan, said this week the "chief is actively attempting to resolve his employment situation."
He declined to comment further until after the agreement is finalized.
The likely end of the chief's tenure is the latest development of a yearlong dispute over the incident. Community members have alleged police used excessive force, and racially profiled the black teens involved, moving them over the town's border into neighboring Irvington, even though many were from Maplewood.
An Essex County Prosecutor's Office investigation did not find evidence to charge the officers involved, but six officers have been disciplined during an ongoing Maplewood Police internal investigation.
The town committee in August suspended Cimino and a police captain over the incident. According to a TapInto.com report, the captain has since retired.
The committee is also awaiting the results of an independent report it commissioned on the culture and practices of the police department.
One of the teens allegedly involved has filed a federal lawsuit against the town, chief, and other officers.