NY man admits making hoax 911 call saying minorities in van on NJ Turnpike were carrying guns
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A New York man has admitted making a hoax 911 call that led New Jersey State Police to draw their guns while stopping a van carrying minority teenagers on the New Jersey Turnpike, raising concerns over racial profiling.
Rodney A. Tanzymore, 20, of Queens pleaded guilty Friday to causing a false public alarm.
He faces a sentence of three to five years' probation. The state Division of Criminal Justice will recommend a 90-day jail term as a condition of the probation. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30.
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On Nov. 21, 2009, Tanzymore was in a van with 10 other students traveling home with several chaperones from a visit to Howard University in Washington, D.C. The trip was organized by a social service agency.
In pleading guilty, Tanzymore said he phoned 911, described three members of the student group and said they got out of a van at the Woodrow Wilson Service Plaza carrying handguns. He also described the van in which the group was traveling.
Troopers soon spotted the vehicle and were advised by a supervisor to treat the stop as "high risk." Eleven troopers responded, and each of the van's occupants was handcuffed while the vehicle was searched. No weapons were found.
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Investigators later traced the call to Tanzymore's cell phone.
After a person involved with the group questioned the credibility of the state police report, the agency released audio of the 911 call and video from in-car cameras to justify their response.
New Jersey State Police were subject to more than 10 years of federal monitoring after the shooting of three unarmed minorities during a 1998 traffic stop on the turnpike that led to allegations of widespread racial profiling.