Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-N.J.) jabbed former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Fox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio MORE for criticizing his crime-fighting record as mayor of Newark, N.J., turning to his 2020 primary rival on Wednesday and declaring bluntly: “There’s a saying in my community: You’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor.”

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"It's no secret that I inherited a police department with massive problems and decades-long challenges. But the head of the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] has already said, the head of the New Jersey ACLU, that I put forth national standard-setting accountability," Booker said on the Detroit debate stage after Biden criticized him for using controversial stop-and-frisk tactics to fight crime and hiring a top adviser to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE (R).

"If you want to compare records, and I'm shocked that you do, I'm happy to do that," Booker said, as the crowd "oohed” with excitement.

Biden said Booker did nothing during his eight years as Newark mayor to crack down on police abuse, which he said resulted in a disproportionate incarceration of young African American men.

The heated exchange came as Booker and Biden clashed over criminal justice reform and Biden’s role in drafting the 1994 crime bill, which has been blamed for a massive rise in incarcerated African Americans.