Ramapo High Presentation Stirs Controversy, But Not 'Anti-Police'

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — A presentation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings became the topic of controversy when a single slide was posted to social media, with some calling the information anti-police.

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik questioned the administration at Ramapo High School, saying he believes they invited a speaker who attempted to "villainize the police."

Kerik, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump in February 2020, and lives in Franklin Lakes, shared what he said was a slide from the presentation on Twitter, calling it "out of context." He even went so far as to call the presentation "indoctrination."

Interim Superintendent Anthony Riscica responded with a statement on Monday, saying the presentation was voluntary for students in "Law, Human Rights, and Sociology who are interested in learning about the rights of law enforcement officials and individual civil rights."

Riscica asked upset parents to consider that they only saw one slide from the presentation, and that the slide was posted "out of context."

"Having someone speak from the Department of Justice is an excellent alternative to students receiving their information from broadcast news and social media. Presentations such as this are intended to inform our students and not to indoctrinate them with an anti-police bias," Riscica wrote.

Still, he said administrators will review material before presentations in the future, especially those which deal with "controversial issues."

"Going forward and with lessons learned, our administrators will be ever vigilant about controversial issues presented to our students to ensure that the Board’s policies are being followed and that both the subject matter and the material to be presented are carefully reviewed before the presentation," he said.

Further, Riscica addressed his support for American police officers.

"The American policing system is the best in the world. Our school district has unwavering support for our local police departments," he said.

"We hold them in the highest regard for what they do for us and our FLOW communities each and every day."

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