Police charged man for altercation with Black woman in New Jersey

A Mount Laurel man was charged on Wednesday 20th of May by New Jersey Police for harassment and bias intimidation after a video of his heated confrontation with a neighbor went viral. The video went viral on social media which was originally posted on TikTok. The police have identified the man as Thomas Diiorio, 40, was seen yelling at his Black neighbor.

The video posted shows a White middle-aged man in a rage at Lakisha Spruill, telling her to get in her car.

The clip recorded on Tuesday 19th of May at Madison Place Apartments on the 3000 block of Saxony Drive on Monday, quickly spread across social media, where it drew confusion and outrage from users.

The confrontation seems to have stemmed from an earlier dispute between of Spruill’s and Diiorio’s. They have been friends since 2023 but the friendship soon went downwards when the Dioorio’s children called the Black Children “Ugly African” and made several remarks about her appearance and race.

Diiorio replied to users on the above post of the video saying that the interaction “had nothing to do with the color of this woman’s skin” and that she was banging on his door, screaming and trying to fight his wife. Spruill on the other hand has accused the man of using racial slurs on her.

Residents in New Jersey are reminded of another altercation that happened in the same area some five years ago.