CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for the federal trial of a white former New Jersey police chief accused of slamming a handcuffed black man's head into a doorjamb.

Opening statements are expected Friday in the civil rights and hate crime trial of 62-year-old Frank Nucera, the former Bordentown Township police chief.

Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said the 18-year-old wasn't endangering officers and the September 2016 assault was driven by "racial hatred." Nucera retired in January 2017 amid an FBI investigation.

Prosecutors say one of Nucera's police officers secretly recorded his comments over the course of a year out of concern about his views.

Defense attorney Rocco Cipparone Jr. acknowledged that the recordings contain "inflammatory language" but said there is no admission to roughing up the suspect.

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9/14/2019 1:29:08 PM (GMT -4:00)