The owner of TAPinto Jersey City, Steve Lenox, has been the spokesperson for the city’s police officers union – which refused to support Denzel Suitt.
Denzel Suitt and Steve Lenox.
“Friends and supporters of a Jersey City police officer convicted of official misconduct are calling on the New Jersey Governor and Attorney General to intervene in the case.”
That quote is the first line of a TAPinto Jersey City article from May 5, 2021, titled Supporters Call for Review of Convicted Cop’s Case. It may also be the only indisputable line from the story written by Al Sullivan.
Instead of accurately covering a press conference hosted by Blacks in Law Enforcement Servicing the Community (B.L.E.S.C.) and local political activists, TAPinto Jersey City perpetuated lies about the case against Denzel Suitt – a Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) officer that was falsely prosecuted & convicted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office (HCPO).
Suitt was accused of robbing Jermaine Palms during a motor vehicle stop in Jersey City’s Bayside Park on March 25, 2018. Despite being accused of stealing $600, a Hudson County jury found Suitt guilty of Theft by Unlawful Taking ($500 or less) and Official Misconduct (directly related to the theft) with a benefit not greater than $200.
Sullivan made false claims about the HCPO’s case against Suitt and wrote a lie that was debunked during the trial. Citing “court transcripts,” TAPinto Jersey City falsely stated that Suitt met Palms and gave back some of the money allegedly stolen during the March 25, 2018, traffic stop.
Steve Lenox, the owner & editor of TAPinto Jersey City, declined to respond to an email asking if he ever attempted to verify the veracity of Sullivan’s article. Of note, Lenox also serves as the spokesperson for the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association (JCPOBA) – the union representing JCPD officers that refused to support Suitt. Watch closing arguments by defense attorney Keith Hirschorn and HCPO A.P. Christina Krauthamer from the State vs. Denzel Suitt:
Debunking the lies published by TAPinto Jersey City
Sullivan’s entire story is flawed, but there’s two dubious passages from the article published by TAPinto Jersey City that stick out.
False Passage #1:
According to the investigation and subsequent case Suitt, during a traffic stop of a suspected drunk driver, took $500 in cash from the suspect before letting him go. The prosecution suggested in its case that the officers took the money in exchange for releasing the suspect without being charged.
REALITY: Suitt was accused of stealing $600 in cash (not $500). The prosecution never suggested, nor did any witness testify, that Suitt took money in exchange for releasing the suspect. The state never argued that the traffic stop was initiated due to suspicion of drunk driving.
False Passage #2:
Court transcripts claim Suit later tried to return half the money back to the driver. The prosecution suggested that these events were part of a cover-up.
REALITY: There is no court transcript that claimed Suitt tried to return half the money back to the driver. That allegation was never suggested by the prosecution.
