A retired police officer who killed a black teenager in a shooting 26 years ago will lose his job at Rowan University following calls for his firing, the school’s president said Monday.
Peter Amico, director of the university’s emergency management office, was a Glassboro patrolman in 1994 when he responded to a domestic dispute where 14-year-old El Tarmaine “L.T.” Sanders was chasing his cousin with a knife. The officer said the teen lunged at him with a knife, leading him to shoot.
A federal civil rights investigation found no civil rights violations, and a grand jury declined to indict the officer while state prosecutors also found no crime. Witnesses, however, disputed the officer’s account of the encounter, sparking days of protests.
In a statement late Monday, Rowan University President Ali Houshmand said Amico would not be reappointed to his position with the campus public safety department.
“In recent days, questions have been raised about Rowan University’s employment of a former police officer who was involved in a controversial incident that led to pain and division in our community more than two decades ago,” Houshmand said. “Amid the national spotlight on social justice and police matters, the University will not reappoint Peter Amico, director of Rowan’s Office of Emergency Management, at its June 10 Board of Trustees meeting.”
“We cannot begin to imagine the Sanders’ family grief. Nothing can replace their loved one,” Houshmand said. “We also acknowledge the difficulty police officers encounter when called to face uncertain conditions, as well as the public scrutiny they endure in their work among us.”
Calls for Amico’s firing came as protests over police violence toward African Americans swept across the county, prompted by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. James E. Johnson, who worked as an adjunct professor at Rowan’s College of Education, launched a petition to have the former cop removed, with support of the Sanders family.
Amico retired from the Glassboro police in 2009 and began working for Rowan as a private contractor in September 2008, handling issues related to the public safety division’s accreditation process, according to the university. He was hired full-time in 2010 and named director of emergency management in 2013. In that administrative role, he was tasked with preparing and responding to natural disasters and other emergencies.
Amico could not be reached on Sunday.
Houshmand said his employment would be “discontinued.”
“As a University, we believe black lives matter. We are looking hard at our own organization, our policies, structure and culture,” the president’s statement added. “We found we have work to do. I am sure some of it will be more difficult and uncomfortable than we can imagine. We will be transparent in our transformation and look for opportunities to engage with the University community to bring about much-needed change.”
- Reporter Matt Gray contributed to this report.
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