Two leaders who questioned the motives of the Atlantic County prosecutor last month were there to honor him days ago.
Prosecutor William Reynolds was presented with the Government Service Award by the Atlantic City Branch of the NAACP at a breakfast Friday, his office announced in a news release.
The award "for your efforts to improve law enforcement and community relations" seems in direct opposition to comments branch President Kaleem Shabazz made at a rally for the mayor and superintendent following a search of their home prior to criminal charges of child abuse and endangerment being filed against them.
"The NAACP has been at the forefront of trying to improve community relation with law enforcement," Shabazz said at the April 9 rally. "I’m sad to report today that a step like this — when a sitting mayor in his house has 20 officers armed and the streets blocked — that does a disservice to trying to build a positive relationship between law enforcement and the community."
At that time Shabazz also alluded to race.
"Furthermore, our experience with the mayor is that even though the mayor is an African-American male of large stature, that should not be cause for fear," he said.
While Shabazz hinted at a potentially racist undertone to what has been categorized by many as a raid, another leader made his allegations of potential racism more overt.
"What I saw was a mayor being treated like Nino Brown from 'New Jack City," he said, referencing Wesley Snipes' drug kingpin character in the 1991 movie. "I saw racial insensitivity."
He said it followed the idiom that "a picture is worth a thousand words."
Bishop Robert Fulton Hargrove, right, smiles as he poses with Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds, left, holding his award Friday.But he did not offer any words for a picture from Friday's breakfast that showed him smiling as he, Shabazz and two others posed with the smiling prosecutor as he held his award.
Hargrove did not respond to requests seeking comment.
Shabazz said he was in a meeting and could not immediately respond.
"There’s going to be a couple of meetings about what statement I make to you," he told BreakingAC.
The rally was coordinated by Al Sharpton's National Action Network, under the Rev. Steffie Bartley, who heads the Northeast sector.
Bartley texted just a one-word response when asked if he could comment on the prosecutor's honor: "Wow."
He did not respond to a request for further comment.
“I gratefully accept this award on behalf of the men and women of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office," Reynolds said, according to the press release. "The credit belongs to our team of dedicated professionals for their commitment to our mission to provide professional leadership and guidance through the coordination of law enforcement resources to safeguard and protect the citizens by the detection, arrest, prosecution and conviction of criminal offenders.
“Likewise, it has been a priority from day one of our administration through community outreach to build partnerships, give mutual respect, open lines of communication and proceed with radical transparency to further build public trust," he added. "Trust is fundamental for the effectiveness of law enforcement in making a positive impact day in and day out for the community that we serve.”
Reynolds also received a certificate of recognition from the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners and a letter from county Executive Dennis Levinson offering congratulations for the award.
The breakfast where Reynolds received his award was held Friday, which was May 17. But the award is dated April 27, when the NAACP celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Freedom Fund Gala at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
It was not clear why the prosecutor did not receive his award at the larger event.
It also was not clear whether Fulton had reached out to the Attorney General's Office about the actions of the county prosecutor, as he said he would in "call(ing) a spade a spade" at the rally.
That mention was an interesting one considering the state office previously had the criminal case of Hargrove's son moved out of Atlantic County due to his close relationship to then-Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner.
In February, the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office — where that case was supposed to be transferred — told BreakingAC it had no record of that case either be disposed or pending.
There is no listing for it in the public record.
