After being sentenced to five years probation, a former Jersey City police officer convicted of third-degree official misconduct and theft by unlawful taking vowed to appeal his case.
“I’ve maintained my innocence throughout this entire ordeal, so do I feel as though justice was served? No, but I do respect the court’s decision. I really want to thank the judge for being fair,” Denzel Suitt told Hudson County View this evening.
“I feel like he really took into consideration a lot of factors, especially my history, and I really want to thank him for being courageous and standing up, doing what he felt as though was right.”
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Suitt with stealing $600 from Jermaine Palms during a March 25th 2018, traffic stop and he was convicted of third-degree official misconduct and theft of unlawful taking of $500 or less in February 2020.
In April, Black Law Enforcement Serving Community (BLESC), along with Black activists, rallied around Suitt, insisting that he was wrongfully convicted and therefore deserved a new trial.
Today, Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young sentenced him to five years probation, 200 hours community service, and repaying Palms the $500 a grand jury convicted him of taking.
The HCPO had recommended the judge issue Suitt a four-year prison sentence, but as he noted, Young showed leniency after hearing about Suitt’s childhood that included living in foster care.
While Suitt was thankful for the outcome, he reiterated that he did nothing wrong and will therefore appeal.
“I do plan on appealing the verdict. I feel as though it would only be right for me to do that, being that I’ve maintained my innocence the entire time. This isn’t just something where I was seeking to avoid a prison sentence: this is something where I want to be vindicated.”
Suitt continued that he did not have any theories on where the charges stemmed from, stating “I have no idea what happened … I have no idea where it came from at all.”
A spokeswoman for the HCPO did not return an email seeking comment on the sentencing.
