Parsippany Township, PD Split From Ajaco Towing After Incident

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The Parsippany Police Department and Parsippany-Troy Hills Township will no longer use a local towing company after a recorded incident caught an employee of Ajaco Towing Recovery using racial epithets and hostile language toward a customer, township officials announced Wednesday.

The township was made aware of the incident on Wednesday morning and, after reviewing the video, the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills and the Parsippany Police Department decided they will no longer use Ajaco Towing effective immediately, officials announced.

Ajaco has also been removed from any rotation list for any towing business conducted by municipal operations. The police department is also conducting an internal review to make sure that all proper procedures were followed by responding officers.

"The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills and the Parsippany Police Department will not tolerate this behavior under any circumstances," the township and police department said in a joint statement issued Wednesday. "Racist language used by anyone who works for or with the Township is inexcusable and will never be allowed.

"Parsippany is a community rich with diverse cultural identities and heritages. We are guided by our American openness and diversity. We do not condone hateful behavior, nor will we allow any business to be done by the township of Parsippany with any business that condones this type of behavior."

Jason Cleffi, the owner of Ajaco Towing, acknowledged in a phone interview with Patch on Thursday that an encounter between a customer who had his vehicle towed after and accident and one of his employees escalated into a "heated moment".

While he said that both parties played a roll in the incident reaching the level it did, Cleffi said that he takes exception to the characterization that his company is racist. He said that the township lifted the contract without due process to his business.

Cleffi said that the employee has been suspended while the incident remains under investigation.

"My employees are not trained like this at all," Cleffi told Patch. "I hire all race, color — everything ....There is no racism here. It was a heated moment between two people that were way out of line."

Cleffi, who said he spoke to Parsippany police after the incident added: "I do care (that the contract was removed) but listen to the other side of the story."

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but I do not train my people that way."