A crowd of about five dozen gathered Thursday evening in front of Woodlynne’s municipal building in the borough of 2,900 residents within a quarter-square mile between Camden and Collingswood in Camden County.
It was billed as a protest for police reform.
At the center of the demonstration was Clyde Cook and his 18-year-old son Timothy Cook. Both are facing aggravated assault charges for an incident at their home in February when a local police officer forced his way into their second-floor apartment in response to a 911 call from Cook’s teenage daughter.
The daughter called in anger after her father disciplined her by suspending her social media access and cell phone usage.
Clyde Cook, who is also a borough councilman, said what happened to him and his family is an example of what he thinks is wrong in the tiny borough.
“I told my son that we needed to put something together that’s going to be supportive of him, my family, in hopes that we can address not just what’s going on in Woodlynne but throughout the entire county,” Cook said. “At the end, we are looking for positive results. We’ve seen nothing but negative outcomes, but positive results are what we’re after.”
The rally began at 5:30 p.m. and ended less than an hour later with Cook leading the crowd in chants: “No justice, no peace…no racist police.”
At least half the crowd were classmates of Timothy Cook’s in the 2020 class of Collingswood High School.
“Tim is a classmate of mine and I saw the post and wanted to come,” said Sena Amuzu, who helped organized a protest in neighboring Collingswood in June that drew thousands in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota.
Timothy Cook, 17, speaks during a protest against police brutality held at Woodlynne's Municipal Building on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Last week, Woodlynne Mayor Joseph Chukwaekue called for the firing of borough police officer Ryan Dubiel, who’s been charged with two counts of simple assault for pepper-spraying two teens “without provocation,” local and state authorities have said.
But Chaukwaekue has a different view of the altercation the Cooks had with borough police.
“I love the police department and support them,” he said. “We civilians don’t pick and choose the police who (respond to calls).”
Clyde Cook doesn’t see it that way.
“At the end of day, police have a sworn oath to serve and protect,” he said. “They have rules and guidelines they have to follow. Officer Dubiel is a prime example.”
He said he had a long-running dispute with one of the officers who responded to his home in February.
He said he had a long-running dispute with Detective Edgar Feliciano and his wife, a fellow council member, and didn’t feel comfortable with the detective entering his home, especially because his bodycam was not on when he arrived.
He asked Feliciano to request another officer to respond that night. He declined and the incident
led to criminal charges against the Cooks.
Clyde Cook, his son and two other speakers addressed the crowd, which was mostly white, many wearing shirts or carrying signs with the phrase Black Lives Matter.
“Worse year of my life,” Timothy Cook said. “Seventeen years of this crap and I was just about to leave the nest and this happens. It’s horrible, It just kills me inside.”
Cook, the councilman, said he views his role as speaking up for constituents, police reform, challenging municipal management and what he views as a culture of nepotism.
Protesters against police brutality at Woodlynne's Municipal Building on Thursday, July 9, 2020.Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
The Cooks vow to fight the charges against them. A spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office declined to speak about the charges and pending court proceedings.
Clyde Cook said county prosecutors have offered his son a chance to have the charges adjudicated over three months by doing community service and writing a 1,000-word essay about the incident. He said the family has not made a decision on if they will accept the offer.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
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