A white man has been arrested in New Jersey after he was captured on video aggressively confronting his Black female neighbor and using the derogatory phrase 'you people.' Thomas Diiorio, 40, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with harassment and bias intimidation, according to the Mount Laurel Police Department.
Incident Details
The confrontation occurred on Monday evening following a dispute between their children. Police responded to the residential neighborhood just after 6 p.m. Upon arrival, Diiorio and his neighbor agreed to separate and not press charges. However, after officers reviewed video footage of the incident, criminal complaints were filed against Diiorio, and he was booked into the Burlington County Jail.
The video, initially posted on TikTok by Tia Shirece on Tuesday, shows Diiorio yelling at his neighbor while she was on the phone. 'Get the f*** out of here! Go! Get in your car!' he shouted as he approached her. The woman is seen backing away and calling for onlookers to contact the police.
Background of the Dispute
The neighbor was later identified as Lakisha Spruil. According to NJ.com, the confrontation stemmed from an ongoing issue between their children. Spruill stated that her daughter had been bullied by Diiorio's children, who called her an 'ugly African.' When Spruill confronted Diiorio about his children's behavior, he allegedly responded, 'It's always you people,' and used racial slurs, as per a police report.
When asked by police what he meant by 'you people,' Diiorio replied that he 'never seems to have these problems with [White] people,' according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Courier Post. Spruill's child was in the car during the incident and witnessed the confrontation.
Community Reaction and Historical Context
The video has amassed over 100,000 likes and thousands of comments on TikTok, with many condemning Diiorio's actions and expressing concern for the woman's safety. This incident echoes a similar event in the same neighborhood in 2021, when Edward Cagney Matthews was arrested for hurling racial slurs and threats at his Black neighbors. Matthews was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison after the New Jersey Attorney General's Office found multiple complaints that police had failed to investigate.
Ali Washington, a resident of Mount Laurel, told NJ.com that the area is 'historically known' for such incidents. However, some residents credited the police for improving their handling of racially motivated crimes.
Legal Proceedings
Diiorio was booked into the Burlington County Jail and has not yet entered a plea. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Mount Laurel Police Department for further details on the criminal complaint and investigation.
