Finding of Probable Cause

TRENTON –

Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) announced today that the Division has issued a Finding of Probable Cause against a Morris County duplex owner for engaging in unlawful discrimination by refusing to accept a Black man’s rental application based on his race and by seeking to bar children from occupying the rental unit.

Adrienne Brown, the landlord, is accused of rejecting the rental application of prospective tenant Timothy Jenkins in December 2016 following a six-day series of email exchanges involving Brown, Brown’s real estate agent and would-be tenant Jenkins.

The emails involved negotiations over Jenkins’ prospective rental of a Morristown property owned by Brown. One of the sticking points was Jenkins’ refusal to sign a lease addendum which, among other terms, barred children from occupying the rental unit. Brown’s own agent told Brown she would not sign the addendum, which would violate New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) by seeking to bar children.

As the email discussions wore on, a DCR investigation showed, Brown made unsolicited references to the fact Jenkins is Black in three separate emails to her agent. In one of those emails, she appeared to blame the agent for the protracted nature of the talks. Specifically, Brown suggested that, because Jenkins is Black, the agent “may have been reluctant” to strike a strong negotiating posture with him “and thus we have both been exposed to an unwarranted delay and a good deal of back and forthing.”

Brown ultimately rented the property to two white applicants. She refused to be interviewed by DCR about the case.

”There’s no place for housing discrimination in New Jersey, based on race or on any other protected characteristic,” said Attorney General Grewal. “We are committed to rooting it out, whether that means educating first-time landlords on compliance with our anti-discrimination laws, taking on implicit bias, or eradicating redlining.”

“Race discrimination in housing, whether explicit or implicit, is illegal in New Jersey,” said Division on Civil Rights Director Rachel Wainer Apter. “A prospective tenant’s race is simply not relevant to a rental inquiry. It is also illegal to refuse to rent to a family with children, or to attempt to get a prospective tenant to sign an agreement that bars families with children. Landlords and real estate agents who would like further information on fair housing laws in New Jersey should contact our office.”

Issued in September of this year, the FPC against Brown notes Brown’s “decision to mention Complainant’s race in three separate emails to her agent, when race was in no way relevant to the transaction or mentioned by the agent, along with her decision to deny his application and rent to two white tenants instead, at least suggests that race could have been a motivating factor” in her decision.

In addition, the FPC explains, Brown’s insistence on Jenkins signing a lease addendum barring children – referenced in multiple emails with her agent – represented a separate apparent violation of the LAD.

Brown also indicated in her emails that Jenkins’ refusal to sign the lease addendum excluding children was weighing against him in her consideration of his rental application. In a December 16, 2017 email to her agent, for example, Brown stated, “If he won’t sign the Addendum, as you mention today, it definitely is over.”

The FPC notes that, under the LAD, Brown’s holding against Jenkins his refusal to sign a lease addendum that was illegal because it sought to bar children was itself a violation of the law.

A Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means the State has concluded its preliminary investigation and determined there is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion the LAD has been violated.

SECAUCUS, N.J.

–The Attorney General’s Shooting Response Task Force is conducting an investigation of an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Sunday evening, Dec. 1, 2019, in Secaucus, N.J. A male civilian, who was armed with a handgun, died during the incident.

The decedent has been identified as Anthony Rosso, 68, who previously resided in Secaucus, N.J.

Officers of the Secaucus Police Department responded to a residence in the 300 block of Sea Isle Key in the Harmon Cove development after a 911 call was received at approximately 5:41 p.m. reporting a domestic incident with a shot fired. Upon arrival, they encountered Rosso, who was outside the residence and was armed with a handgun. During the incident, Rosso fired his gun and multiple police officers fired their weapons.  Rosso was fatally wounded. The origin of the fatal shot is under investigation. Emergency medical personnel responded, and Rosso was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:14 p.m. No one else was injured. Members of the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team also responded, arriving at the scene after the officer-involved gunfire.

The investigation by the Shooting Response Task Force, which is part of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a law enacted in January 2019, Senate Bill 1036, which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody.