A top New Jersey cop spewed an offensive remark about the Jewish attorney general and his young son on “Bring Your Child to Work Day this Year,” according to a newly revealed complaint.
The State Police’s second-in-command Sean Kilcomons allegedly referred to AG Matt Platkin as “that Jew” and ordered a department helicopter to stay in the air so the prosecutor’s son couldn’t see inside of it on April 25, according to a report filed with the AG’s Public Integrity and Accountability Unit.
“I don’t want that Jew’s kid in the State Police helicopter,” Kilcomons, lieutenant colonel of the State Police, is quoted in the filing as saying during the event — when cops hosted workers with ties to law enforcement and their children.
Kids got the chance to see troopers’ equipment, police horses and a display of a helicopter on the ground that had been flown in for the event, according to photos posted online by state police of the event.
But Kilcomons allegedly instructed the chopper to stay in the air until Platkin and his child left the area, according to the report obtained by The Post.
“Tell him not to land,” Kilcomons allegedly said, according to the document given to the AG’s office on Oct. 7.
The state attorney general’s office said in a statement last week it has been made aware of the report, but declined further comment.
“We neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations,” an AG spokesperson said.
Generally, reports involving state police conduct are referred to the public integrity unit for review and potential investigation, the spokesperson said.
The report, which has additional allegations against Kilcomons and other state police leaders, was lodged anonymously for fear of retribution, according to the doc.
But sources said the fiery claims come from a state trooper.
The document contains other detailed information that only troopers or those close to troopers would know, another source told The Post.
Platkin, who was appointed in 2022 by Gov. Phil Murphy, and Kilcomons have long been at odds, according to multiple sources.
In an email to The Post, a state police spokesperson did not directly address the allegation against Kilcomons, instead listing what the “Bring Your Child to Work Day” event entails and saying the department is “committed to serving and protecting with honor, duty, and fidelity.”
“The helicopter was only flown to the headquarters prior to the start of the event and again after its conclusion,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson didn’t reply to a follow-up email seeking comment on the specific accusation.
State police are already under a microscope after the findings of two probes released by the attorney general’s office outlined “deeply troubling and systemic problems” with the police force, including racial discrimination and weaponizing internal affairs against some troopers, Platkin said in a news release last month.
The NAACP and other black activists are now calling for Gov. Phil Murphy to remove both Kilcomons and his boss, Superintendent Patrick Callahan.
“Governor, we call upon you. You are the only one, not the attorney general, that has the power to remove those who sit at the top of the heap in the New Jersey State Police,” said Bishop Jethro C. James Jr., earlier this month, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
NAACP New Jersey State Conference President Richard Smith said he doesn’t believe Callahan and Kilcomons can enact a series of reforms suggested in the AG’s reports, CBS 2 NY reported earlier this month.
Members of the Jewish community in Lakewood are now also conveying outrage over Kilcomons’ alleged remark after they were sent a letter making them aware of the report and urging them to contact the governor’s office to ask for immediate changes.
But a pair of Jewish community leaders contacted The Post unsolicited after initial inquiries to the AG’s Office and State Police, vouching for Kilcomons’ character and describing him as a friend to Jewish residents.
“Sean Kilcomons has been a steadfast supporter of the Jewish community for as long as I’ve known him,” said Marc Zislin, president of the NJ-based Jewish Troopers Association, Inc. “His commitment deepened after October 7th and continues to strengthen.”
Rabbi Mendy Carlebach told The Post this week Kilcomons visited his Chabad house at Rutgers to ensure students on campus felt safe following the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel.
“Over the years that I’ve dealt with him I’ve just seen him as a very stand-up individual,” he said.
Platkin, who is the state’s chief law enforcement officer, has repeatedly made statements condemning antisemitism in New Jersey dating back to before the attack on Israel by Hamas.
“As we mark October 7th, a reminder to all of New Jersey: The attacks on Israel in the name of hate prove that antisemitism is alive and that we must work together to defeat it,” he said in a statement this month.