AFTER 7 YEARS ON THE JOB, NJ UNIVERSITY JOINS THE MOB BY FIRING EX-COP FOR A SHOOTING 26-YEARS AGO

Rowan University won't retain emergency official who killed teen in 1994 police shooting

 

By Jim Walsh

 

Cherry Hill Courier-Post

June 9, 2020

 

GLASSBORO, NJ - Rowan University will not renew the contract of an emergency-response official who killed a black youth while working as a policeman 26 years ago, the school's leader said Monday.

University President Ali Houshmand noted "the national spotlight on social justice and police matters" in announcing the decision regarding Peter Amico, director of Rowan's Office of Emergency Management.

The decision came as an online petition demanding Amico's dismissal grew to almost 3,000 signatures on Monday night.

 

 "Given the circumstances of Amico’s employment prior to serving at the university and the necessarily painstaking evaluation of Rowan’s institutional commitment to racial justice and equity, Amico’s employment will be discontinued," Houshmand said.

 

In a letter to the Rowan community, Houshmand noted Amico had fatally shot a 14-year-old Glassboro boy, El Tarmaine "L.T." Sanders, while employed as a Glassboro police officer in 1994.

The shooting resulted from "a split-second decision" while Amico was responding to a domestic call, the letter said.

Amico, then 29, said the youth was running toward him with a knife at the time of the shooting outside Sanders' Poplar Street home.

A Gloucester County grand jury did not bring charges in connection with the boy's death and the U.S. Department of Justice took no action after an investigation into whether the boy's civil rights were violated, Houshmand noted.

 

"The Sanders family and many others protested and rallied in their pursuit of justice, but the legal system left them without further recourse," said the president's letter.

It noted the shooting "led to pain and division in our community."

Amico, who led the emergency-management office since 2013, could not be reached for comment late Monday evening.

Rowan's trustees had been expected to consider a new contract for Amico at its meeting Wednesday.

According to Houshman's letter, Amico began working with Rowan as a contractor in September 2008 in the Department of Public Safety. He was hired full-time in 2010, one year after retiring from the borough police department.

In his director's role, he was responsible for preparing and responding to emergencies such as natural disasters and other crises, the letter said.

A Change.org petition demanding Amico's ouster described his employment by Rowan as "a revolting insult to the Sanders family and to African Americans everywhere."

James E. Johnson, an independent educator who launched the petition, called Monday's announcement "the right decision."

"It demonstrates that, going forward, black lives will matter at Rowan University," Johnson said.

"As a university, we believe black lives matter," Houshmand said in his letter. "We are looking hard at our own organization, our policies, structure and culture."