Charging Civil Rights Violation, N.J. Man Sues EPA's Whitman And State Police Over Frisk

A young man who was photographed while he was frisked by then New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman in May 1996 has recently filed a federal lawsuit against her and the New Jersey State Police. Whitman is now administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Sherron Rolax, 21, claims he was targeted by New Jersey State Police because he is Black and was victimized, in part because Whitman and the troopers had a "cavalier attitude" toward racial profiling.

The lawsuit contends that Whitman and troopers violated Rolax's rights by patting him down after he had already been searched.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Camden, NJ, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Three troopers and Col. Carl A. Williams, state police superintendent at the time, are also named as defendants.

At age 17 Rolax, who was unarmed, was frisked by Whitman, who was accompanying Camden police as they patrolled the streets as part of a crackdown on crime in the city. The photo, taken by a state trooper, became widely published last summer and drew criticism from many minorities.

The suit claims that Capt. Edgar Hess, who was in charge of an anti-crime initiative in Camden at the time, offered a week's vacation to any trooper who could photograph Whitman frisking a suspect. Hess has denied the allegation.

Whitman has said the frisk was a "mistake." At JET press time an EPA spokeswoman said Whitman would not comment because she has yet to see the lawsuit.