A recent conversation with Andrew Bobbitt ended like many others with the black political insider and mayoral assistant in full defense of Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora. With virtually no way off of an edgy cliffhanger tête á tête, Bobbitt fielded this assessment of his two-time incumbent boss — Reed is just a white dude from Princeton. The identification needs no outrage. I list as a black man from Winslow who moved to Trenton more than 40 years back. We bring different experiences and expectations to this capital city. Both observations regarding Gusciora rank as true with the former 15th District assemblyman entrenched in Princeton and nearby politics until a redrawing of the voting area moved Princeton into the 16th district in 2011. Gusciora moved to Trenton afterward as means to keep his old seat, an act of political expediency. Had Gusciora remained in Princeton he would have faced powerful Republicans Peter Biondi and Jack Ciattarelli — and potentially watch his political aspirations fade. So, a kind of Princeton naïveté exists in comments made by Gusciora regarding a Department of Justice investigation that determined the Trenton Police Department and City of Trenton engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the Justice Department found that TPD unlawfully uses excessive force, including unreasonable forms of physical force and pepper spray in the absence of any significant resistance or danger. TPD also conducts stops, searches and arrests without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. In addition, the department identified deficiencies in training, supervision, policy and accountability that contribute to TPD and the city’s unlawful conduct. A Trentonian article noted Gusciora defended the officers and the department, saying the Feds presented “anecdotes” of instances of excessive force, but pointed out that the Feds did not identify any racial component in the findings. “It’s all training and supervision issues,” Gusciora claimed. Race matters in Trenton and as a Caucasian mayor in a city where African Americans/Blacks and Hispanics comprise 87-percent of the population, a dismissal of color-coded issues with law enforcement sounds out of touch with reality. We can let that topic rest until a later date. Let’s talk about this idea that the Feds based their determinations on anecdotal situations. Joseph Ahr, Sr. pepper-sprayed, roughed up and killed during a July 2020 altercation with Trenton police, ranks hardly as anecdotal material, especially since the circumstances of his death coincide with police behaviors identified in the federal complaint. On July 6, 2020, police arrived at the Ahr home after being called by his son. As officers spoke to the son, Ahr came to the door and the situation escalated. Ofc. Nicholas Piotrowski eventually struck Ahr while others pepper-sprayed his face. Ahr suffered a respiratory emergency. Police called for medical support although Ahr died in a city hospital 18 days later. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying Ahr died of “acute respiratory failure following the use of pepper spray during arrest of an individual with chronic pulmonary disease and COVID-19.” In January, 2023, a state grand jury indicted Piotrowski for misconduct. An assessment offered by Attorney General Matt Platkin in a previous statement noted that Piotrowski, “resorted to using pepper spray during a confrontation with a civilian in a manner that was unnecessary and contrary to his training, mishandling a situation that could have concluded so much differently.” Instead, Joseph Ahr, Sr. passed away on July 24. Let’s be perfectly clear, Ahr, aka Ugg Mugg by his children and called Mookie or Itzy by friends, neither lived nor died as an anecdote. Gusciora should stand in a room filled with Ahr’s children, four grandchildren, other family members and friends like Ellen, Gladys, Marshall Hall, Johnny and Daryl Andrews, “Ms. Patt”, Maria Pineda, Giovanni Rodriguez, Carlos Sanchez, and Dayshawn Lane; tell them that Ugg Mugg gains remembrance as an anecdote. When the Ahr family sits for the fifth anniversary Thanksgiving without Itzy, no doubt they will recall a guy who enjoyed cookouts, fishing with his brother Charlie, watching sports, vacations in Wildwood, and listening to oldies music on his porch. An obituary noted that Ahr, Sr. loved his family and frequently greeted them with a hug or kiss. He smiled often and enjoyed making others happy. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at [email protected].