Clerk resigns following scandal involving comments on trooper’s death

The law clerk who was suspended for two weeks after making derogatory Facebook comments following the death of a New Jersey state trooper has resigned, according to an official from the NJ Judiciary System. 

NJ 101.5 has learned that Leslie Anderson, a Superior Court judge’s law clerk, submitted her resignation Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier in the week, she had been suspended with pay, pending an internal investigation, Winnie Comfort, the director of communications for the NJ judiciary system told NJ 101.5. Comfort said the clerk was suspended by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Travis Francis following comments she made on the News 12 New Jersey Facebook page about Trooper Anthony Raspa’s death. In the comments, which were later deleted, Anderson mourned the deer who was killed in the crash and said the trooper's death was "not that sad."

Chris Burgos, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, told the Press of Atlantic City that the comments left by Anderson on the Facebook post were "disturbing."

“My impression is that this person has a hatred for us and what we do. If she says they were made in a private capacity on Facebook that doesn’t cut it anymore, especially from someone entrusted to work for the law This brings up ethical and conduct issues,” Burgos told the Press of Atlantic City.

Raspa, 24, lived in Highland Park and was a member of Troop "C" based at the Hamilton Township station in Mercer County. He was killed on May 30 when he and his partner, Gene Hong, were patrolling an eastbound stretch of I-195 in Monmouth County when their Ford Crown Victoria struck the deer. The car ran off the side of the road and hit a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. Hong, 29, was treated at a hospital for lacerations and a neck injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.