N.J. mayor clashes with protesters over his brothers police record – NJ.com

After protesters marched through the borough of Carteret in support of the Black Lives Matter movement last week, a group of more than 100 ended up outside Mayor Daniel Reimans home, demanding answers about why his brother is still on the police force.

Joseph Reiman was charged by authorities in 2017 with brutalizing a black teenager after a brief car chase. He was acquitted by a jury in May 2019 and has remained with the borough police department.

As the mayor tried to enter his home, he was flanked by police who cleared the crowd as protesters chanted, Vote him out. One woman called the longtime mayor f---ing nasty, according to a video taken by a protester.

Reiman responded on the video: Are you on drugs again?

He then went into his home without addressing the large crowd, according to several people, as protesters stayed out front for hours.

The mayor said in a statement that the woman was screaming racially offensive and homophobic comments at the Police and myself all day and was clearly not there to support the Black Lives Matter movement."

It appeared to me that she was on some sort of substance and she should have expected to be called out, he said.

Earlier in the day at the middle school, where the protest was set to kick off, Reiman had made the same comment about drug use as he was questioned by two men regarding his brother, according to another video.

He shouldnt be on the street with a badge and a gun brutalizing black teens, said one of the men. Another man held a sign with pictures of Monte Stewart, the teenager Reimans brother repeatedly punched after a brief car chase in 2017.

So we know for a fact you are a heroin addict, Reiman responded on the video.

Jon Salonis, a spokesman for the borough, said the man, is an alt-right agitator who regularly appears at public meetings making derogatory and downright slanderous remarks about the Mayor.

The Mayor was not about to abide his attempted highjacking of what was to be a peaceful walk. And so the mayor called him out for exactly what he is, Salonis said.

Shortly thereafter the exchange, Salonis said outside agitators began shouting down the mayor and the designated speakers, preventing them from addressing the crowd as they had planned too.

The mayor said in a statement that he did not partake in the protest because it took a different route than what was planned and because (protesters) did not want me there. In one video taken before the protest, Mayor Reiman said police should be held to a higher standard and said he was at the event to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Those who attended the protest described the mayors actions as unprofessional, saying they showed a lack of empathy and leadership during a critical time in American history.

This is the first thing you say while there are protesters outside your home? asked Dominique Cortesiano, a 20-year Carteret resident who took the video of Reiman asking the woman outside of his home if she were back on drugs. He doesnt want to create a dialogue.

The protest was organized after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police in May, but some who attended the protest said it was just as much about police misconduct in the borough.

You are perpetuating the issue here with your brother, Josef Sanders said of the mayor.

People are angry with (the mayor) and have every right to be, said Lauren Jones, a college student and lifelong resident who organized the protest. ... You cant leave when things get uncomfortable. Part of the uncomfortability is caused by you.

After serving multiple tours as a Marine in Afghanistan and Iraq, Joseph Reiman joined the Carteret police force in July 2015 and quickly became known as an aggressive and forceful police officer in the borough, according to previous reporting by NJ Advance Media.

During a 23-month stretch after he became a Carteret cop, Reiman accounted for more than 20% of all arrests involving force by an officer recorded by the department, according to NJ Advance Media investigation.

Reimans record became public when NJ Advance Media reported a teens account of his arrest after leading police on a brief chase in 2017.

The arrest was captured on dashcam video and showed Reiman climbing on top of the teen and punching him more than a dozen times.

Reimans defense attorney argued at the trial that the officer used the appropriate amount of force consistent with police training when apprehending the teenager.

The mayor said in a statement after his brothers acquittal that the investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office was corrupt.

Joseph Reiman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story has been updated with additional comment from Mayor Daniel Reiman.

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N.J. mayor clashes with protesters over his brothers police record - NJ.com

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