Michelle Harding, the mother of a 10-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a police cruiser in Franklin Township responded to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's decision not to charge the officer behind the wheel. Read her full statement below.
I do not believe this to be an accident because this was not an accident. It was a clear error in the officer training, officer reasoning and road management that created a scenario where it was just a matter of time before someone died. You cannot have rookie officer drive “at his discretion” per the words of the prosecutor because he will decide to drive 75 mph on a dark, rainy road in the middle of a residential neighborhood without lights or sirens.
The facts are that the Officer Locilento, the Township and the State of New Jersey created a higher probability of killing a child when he drove in that manner on that road than the probability of someone being killed or injured in the call to which he was responding. A scenario where a properly trained officer has his lights on and at a speed considering the conditions on a road updated to reflect the neighborhood easily prevents this tragic death of my son.
The State of New Jersey has a tract of road that continues to post at 50 mph without proper
signage, lights or pedestrian crossings even though it contains a school, shopping mall and
residential neighborhood with many children who run around and play like children should be able to do. This was not accident. It was reckless behavior and management. Unfortunately, I am not an expert but just a citizen who put her trust in the government to create a safe condition.
Finally, I am genuinely upset that the prosecutor’s office was making a concerted effort to place blame on a my beautiful child trying to play in his neighborhood instead of the grown responsible adults hired to protect Matthew. The Prosecutor's office did not wish to prosecute which would then place that little birdie on the shoulder of all officers in the future to remind them to be careful.
This places a burden on me to act so that Matthew’s tragic death will act as a conduit for change. There needs to be change and I am committed to use whatever legal and/or legislative means that are available to make sure that the State and County creates conditions to prevent this from happening to anyone ever again. You should not have to bury your son or daughter when it was preventable by the government we pay to protect us.
