Manchester police charge juvenile in bias crime against Jersey City firefighter

By Ken Thorbourne/The Jersey Journal
December 10, 2009, 2:09PM


Manchester police have made an arrest in the bias crime against Jersey City firefighter Michael Harris, shown above, and his family.

Police in Manchester Township confirmed today the arrest of a 16-year-old Brick Township boy in connection to a bias crime at the home of a Jersey City firefighter.

The night of Nov. 14, Jersey City firefighter Michael Harris found the "n-word" spray-painted on a white fence at his home in the Pine Lake Park section of Manchester.

The juvenile was arrested on Nov. 19 and charged with criminal mischief in a bias incident, said Manchester Police Sgt. John Tomasulo.

The teen was released to a guardian and will appear in juvenile court, said Tomasulo, who wasn't sure how police tracked down the boy.

"I want to thank the Manchester police department for their efforts and thank Jersey City residents for all their support," Harris, 49, said today.

A 15-year Jersey City firefighter, Harris has lived with his wife and their five children in Manchester for two years.

"We feel that something like this always happens to someone else," Harris said. "When it did, it brought me back to reality."