Politics & Government
Activists Rally To Support Ex-Jersey City Cop Facing Sentencing
Denzel Suitt, former Jersey City officer, was convicted of official misconduct last year, but activists say it's a miscarriage of justice.
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Activists rallied to support ex-police officer Denzel Suitt on Tuesday and said he was wrongfully convicted of official misconduct last year.
Black Law Enforcement Serving Community or BLESC and other activists held an event on Martin Luther King Boulevard to call for a new trial ahead of Suitt's sentencing on Wednesday. Suitt was accused of stealing $600 from two men during a stop in 2018 and convicted in 2020 of theft of $500 or less and official misconduct.
BLESC President Anthony Smith said the investigation and case were flawed, "Nearly all the circumstantial evidence, with his testimony and investigation conducted by the Jersey City PD Internal Affairs Unit and Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, has dubious issues," Smith said.
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Calls to review the case and implement a new trial came after The Real Garden State published a 10-point feature questioning the case.
Speakers on Tuesday highlighted Suitt's upbringing in the foster care system and perseverance to contribute to the community. Suitt himself was at the rally and briefly said, "I do believe that I face an injustice and I hope that someday in the near future that it does get corrected."
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Activist Chris Gadsden called on Governor Phil Murphy and State Attorney General Gurbir Singh Grewal to look into Suitt's case.
Ward F City Council candidate Frank "Education" Gilmore criticized the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office for taking action in this case, which he highlighted was against a Black officer, and not several other cases the community has brought forward.
"We witnessed an officer have a young man run over not once but twice, and then the Hudson County Prosecutor’s office did not pursue this young man in the manner in which they should have pursued him," Gilmore said, "We witnessed another incident where a police officer used his baton in a reckless manner swiping and whacking teenagers across the back and the head, and again the county prosecutor team has done nothing."
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