The mother of a 10-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a police cruiser will likely take legal action due to the decision not to charge the Franklin Township Police officer behind the wheel.
In a statement released Monday, Michelle Harding, the mother of Matthew McCloskey, said her son's death was "not an accident."
"I do not believe this to be an accident because this was not an accident," she wrote. "It was a clear error in the officer training, officer reasoning and road management that created a scenario where it was just a matter of time before someone died."
On Dec. 28, Officer Nicholas Locilento, 23, was responding to a call about a misbehaving juvenile -- a call that investigators have classified a non-emergency -- when his cruiser hit and killed McCloskey on Delsea Drive in Franklin Township as he and two friends ran to a friend's house for a sleepover.
Locilento was speeding, driving 74 mph in a 50 mph zone, without emergency warning equipment, when he struck McCloskey, investigators said.
As it stands, New Jersey law recogonizes that police officers may need to exceed speed limits to properly perform duities and speeding is not a crime as long as they exercise caution and don't "recklessly disregard the safety of others."
On Friday investigators determined Locilento would not face any criminal charges in the boy's death. According to investigators, he was not driving recklessly because he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, wasn't using his cellphone and had sufficient sleep before the accident.
In Franklin Twp. it's standard practice that an officer does not use their cruiser's lights or sirens in non-emergency situations. Following the accident, Locilento ran to the boy and began issuing emergency aid, officials said. The boy died from his injuries later that night.
Harding disagreed with the the prosecutor's decision.
"The facts are that the Officer Locilento, the Township and the State of New Jersey created a higher probability of killing a child when he drove in that manner on that road than the probability of someone being killed or injured in the call to which he was responding," she wrote. "A scenario where a properly trained officer has his lights on and at a speed considering the conditions on a road updated to reflect the neighborhood easily prevents this tragic death of my son."
Harding also accused the prosecutor's office of blaming the incident on her son.
"I am genuinely upset that the prosecutor’s office was making a concerted effort to place blame on my beautiful child trying to play in his neighborhood instead of the grown responsible adults hired to protect Matthew," she said. "The Prosecutor's office did not wish to prosecute which would then place that little birdie on the shoulder of all officers in the future to remind them to be careful."
Harding's attorney Mike Stosic also said he was taken aback by the Prosecutor's decision.
"If you look through the lines of that statement they find more fault with the child than they did with the poilce officer," he said. "She doesn't find fault with the fact that her kids can get dropped off three blocks from her house and expect to feel safe to come home."
Harding told NBC10 she plans to take legal action, which Stosic confirmed.
"Will a lawsuit be filed? I would say that's probable," he said.
You can read Harding's FULL RESPONSE to the decision not to file charges HERE.
Photo Credit: NBC10
