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N.J. State Police Honor Slain Trooper, call for escaped killer's return from Cuba
As officials dedicated a monument Wednesday to Trooper Werner Foerster, not far from where he was slain in a 1973 shootout, the head of the State Police vowed to bring his escaped killer to justice.
And the state's attorney general, engaged in a legal fight over the possible parole of Joanne Chesimard's accomplice, Sundiata Acoli, pledged to fight his release.
Foerster, who was 34 and on the force just three years when he was killed, was remembered Wednesday as a dedicated trooper, husband and father cut down in the prime of his life.
"This remains an open wound," Col. Rick Fuentes, the State Police superintendent, told reporters next to the black roadside monument erected in Foerster's memory.
The trooper's murder by the members of the Black Liberation Army more than four decades ago remains an emotional flashpoint for members of the state's law enforcement community. But it's also become a vexing political problem for government officials as the U.S. restores diplomatic relations with Cuba, which for years has harbored the fugitive Chesimard.
"She escaped justice in 1979, and we have never let up," said Fuentes, who has led the campaign for Chesimard's return to serve her murder sentence. "We've been tireless over many years to try to bring her back into the country."
Authorities say it began with a broken tail light. Foerster and Trooper James Harper pulled over the white Pontiac containing Chesimard, Acoli, and James F. Costan in the early hours of May 2, 1973.
The three black nationalists were armed, and in a struggle with police wounded Harper and disarmed Foerster, killing him with his own gun.
Costan, known as Zayd Malik Shakur, was also killed in the melee.
Chesimard, now known as Assata Shakur, and Acoli were later convicted for Foerster's murder, but Chesimard escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba.
Acoli, formerly known as Clark Edward Squire, remains in prison for his role in the murder, but the state Supreme Court is currently weighing a challenge to the parole board's denial of his bid for release.
Acting Attorney General John Hoffman, whose office argued recently before the Supreme Court against Acoli's release, said Wednesday they would "continue the legal fight for justice over the issue of parole."
State officials say Acoli should remain in prison for his entire life sentence.
Chesimard, meanwhile, is one of the FBI's most wanted fugitive terrorists. In 2005, the reward for her capture was set at $1 million, and last year it was raised to $2 million.
Fuentes said Chesimard, who was granted political asylum in Cuba, "enjoys privileges normally afforded only to the Cuban political and military elite."
Her status there has been the cause of tension between U.S. and Cuban officials as the two nations seek to restore diplomatic relations.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has been pressing for Chesimard's extradition, and Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican candidate for president, has vehemently opposed a plan to renew airline flights between Cuba and Newark International Airport until Chesimard is returned.
During initial talks over re-establishing diplomatic ties, international media outlets reported that the U.S. State Department was negotiating the return of Chesimard and other fugitives hiding in Cuba, but the provision was not part of the final agreement.
"Earlier this year, there was a golden opportunity to pressure the Cuban government to turn over Chesimard," Fuentes said Wednesday. "It was apparently not a priority."
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