Video of traffic stop: NJ cop pulls over Black driver for wearing sweatshirt in hot weather

⚠️ A viral video shows a traffic stop involving a Black, disabled driver and Jackson police.

➡️ The driver says he was racially profiled and pulled over for being Black and wearing a hoodie.

🔴 Jackson police say they will conduct a "full and impartial" review of the incident.

JACKSON — A traffic stop video involving a Black, disabled driver and two white police officers has attracted lots of online attention and sparked township police to investigate claims of racial profiling.

The driver, Jamal Holmes, began recording on his cell phone when he was pulled over a short distance from his residence on June 2.

What officers said during the Jackson traffic stop

A four-minute video taken on Holmes’ cell phone shows two officers standing at the passenger side of his car, asking for his driver’s license.

“What was the reason for stopping me?” Holmes asks, just a few miles from the Westlake Mews residential development.

“When we drove by in the Mews, we just saw you; I was a little concerned, it looked like you were reaching down, just like hiding your face when we came by. You're wearing a sweatshirt in 80-degree weather,” the first officer says.

“You got a handicap placard up, there’s people that complain in the Mews about people parking in handicap spots,” the officer says.

Holmes then asks for the duo to call their supervisor, which he repeats multiple times as the officers do not acknowledge the request.

“By law, if I request that you call your supervisor, you’re supposed to call your supervisor before I get out of the car,” Holmes says, as the officers continue to tell him to get out of the car.

It is not until two minutes and 40 seconds into the video that one of the officers mentions that the car’s inspection sticker is two months expired.

As the video ends, it appears to show an officer opening the driver’s door and pulling Holmes by the arm out of the car.

Holmes says encounter left him in pain

Holmes said on his Facebook page that he was slammed against his vehicle and taken to the local police station, where he was ultimately released without being processed and told he would be mailed a summons.

“I tell the supervisor exactly what happened, and ask him what about my outfit makes me suspicious of committing a crime? He says nothing,” Holmes said in his written post on the incident.

Holmes said since undergoing a spinal fusion two years ago, he has had rods and pins in his back.

In his written Facebook post, he said the physical incident left him in pain and worried about any setbacks with his recovery.

Jackson police promise full review after video spreads online

Township police on Sunday vowed to carry out a full review of the incident as the video made the rounds online.

"The Jackson Township Police Department takes all allegations of discrimination seriously. We are aware of the concerns that have been raised and are reviewing the matter in accordance with our policies and procedures. A thorough and impartial review will be conducted to ensure all relevant facts and circumstances are considered," Jackson Township Police Chief Mary Nelson said in a written statement shared to Facebook on Sunday.

"We encourage anyone who may have information regarding this incident to contact the Jackson Township Police Department so that it may be included in our review," Nelson continued.

"The Jackson Township Police Department remains committed to professionalism, accountability, and maintaining the trust of the community we serve."

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