Trooper running for Senate was named in 2023 wrongful death lawsuit, is under internal investigation

A New Jersey State Trooper who has emerged as one of the leading Republican candidates to challenge U.S. Senator Cory Booker was accused of improperly investigating a 2022 car crash on the Garden State Parkway and leaving its victim to die.

The lawsuit against Richard Tabor, filed in 2023, alleged that 22-year-old David Kilasi may not have died instantly in the crash, and that the State Police’s negligence – Kilasi’s body was not discovered until three days after the accident – contributed to his death. The suit was settled last fall, though the amount of the settlement has not been made public.

Tabor told the New Jersey Globe that he is unable to comment on most aspects of the lawsuit due to a non-disclosure agreement. He did insist, however, that he was not at fault: “It didn’t happen on my shift, but I got blamed for it,” he said. “That’s why the case got closed.”

Robert Fuggi, the lawyer who represented the Kilasi family, did not respond to two calls to his law office. Tabor’s attorney, Malcolm Thorpe, declined comment.

A spokesperson for the New Jersey State Police, Sgt. First Class Charles Marchan, said that Tabor is “currently under investigation,” though it’s not clear whether the investigation is related to the Kilasi lawsuit or to another matter. Marchan told the New Jersey Globe that Tabor is on a paid administrative absence, but could not discuss any details because the matter has been referred to the Office of Professional Standards as part of the official administrative probe.

Tabor confirmed that a State Police disciplinary action is ongoing, though he too said he was unable to discuss specifics due to State Police rules. He denied being on administrative leave, but he said he intends to take leave from his position once he files to make the U.S. Senate ballot. 

According to the lawsuit, which was filed by Kilasi’s parents in 2023, Kilasi disappeared sometime in the early morning hours of July 10, 2022 after driving away from the family’s house. Around noon that day, the lawsuit alleges, Tabor discovered Kilasi’s 2003 Honda Pilot in the center median of the Garden State Parkway in Eagleswood Township, and the damaged car was subsequently towed away.

It wasn’t until July 12, however, that Kilasi’s family was informed of the discovery of the vehicle; they were told by an unnamed State Police sergeant that “the vehicle was abandoned in the woods and the driver may have taken an Uber to his destination – they always do that.” On July 13, after the family filed a missing persons report, they were informed that Kilasi’s body had been found not far from the original location of the crashed car; a later investigation determined that Kilasi had been “ejected” from the car after it ran off the road.

Kilasi’s body had undergone some decomposition and a medical examiner’s findings did not state a time of death, but Kilasi’s family argued that he had survived the initial crash and, had an earlier and more thorough investigation been conducted, his life might have been saved. Tabor, the lawsuit alleged, bore some of the responsibility for his death.

“Based on information and belief, Defendant Tabor conducted a completely inadequate crash investigation and concluded that the severely damaged vehicle with a man-sized hole in the windshield had been abandoned,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit, which included counts of wrongful death, negligence, and discrimination, also alleged that the State Police’s conduct was influenced by Kilasi’s status as a Black man with a Kikuyu/Bantu surname. “Defendant Tabor and other Troopers like him were trained and/or permitted to make assumptions about whether a severely damaged vehicle was abandoned based on stereotypes regarding the race, ethnicity, and/or national origin of the registered owner,” the lawsuit stated.

Tabor, who is Black, strongly denied any insinuation that racism played a role in Kilasi’s death or in his own conduct.

“They said I left him there because he was Black. And what am I?” Tabor said. “All the evidence is there, but no one ever looks at the evidence.”

An offer of a settlement against the State Police for $975,000 was made last March, but that did not apply to a claim against Tabor individually. Papers filed with the court in October 2025 show that the matter was settled, though the amount was not disclosed, and the lawsuit was dismissed; Tabor said he did not personally pay any part of the settlement.

Tabor, a Marine combat veteran who served in Iraq, is one of many Republicans running against Booker, who is considered the heavy favorite for a third full term this year. He’s won county party endorsements in Atlantic, Hunterdon, Hudson, and Union Counties thus far; also campaigning for the Republican nomination are former News 12 reporter Alex Zdan, former Tabernacle Committeeman Justin Murphy, physician Robert Lebovics, and perennial candidate Natalie Rivera.

This isn’t Tabor’s first campaign for office, though it may be the first time he successfully makes the ballot. Tabor ran for mayor of Elizabeth in 2024 and for an Elizabeth-based State Assembly district in 2025, but was kicked off the ballot both times after officials determined that he was domiciled in Burlington County, where his family lives, and was thus ineligible to run for office in Union County.

Tabor contested both decisions, and continues to assert that his removal from the ballot was improper and politically motivated. “You can see the foul play here,” he said. “Even Stevie Wonder could see the foul play.”