Paterson men allege police officers beat them in restaurant parking lot
By Jonathan Greene
Published: December 26, 2015
Two city men are alleging they were “viciously attacked” by police officers in the parking lot of a Madison Avenue restaurant, according to a federal lawsuit filed on December 15, 2015.
Two brothers Juan Geronimo and Akenaton Geronimo-Arias were at the parking lot of Las Palmas Restaurant on Madison Avenue on June 1, 2014 at around 2:30 a.m. when “several individuals came out to talk,” according to court documents.
The lawsuit names detectives M. Formentin, S. Judeh, Macolino, and Sgt. Thomas Trommelen.
One of the officers allegedly “sucker punched” Geronimo-Arias, according to the lawsuit. Geronimo seeing his brother “attacked by a stranger” pushed the attacker to help Geronimo-Arias but ended up being repeatedly “kicked” and “punched” in the parking lot sustaining “bruises and contusions,” according to court documents.
The cops allegedly did not identify as officers and were not uniformed, according to the lawsuit. Court documents state the brothers were beaten, handcuffed, dragged, and then thrown in the back of a vehicle.
The brothers say in the suit they sustained “serious injuries to their lips, forehead, arms, legs, and other parts of their person.”
Both Geronimo and Geronimo-Arias were charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, according to the lawsuit. The brothers allege the officers “prepared false and misleading reports” accusing them of the before mentioned charges.
Geronimo and Geronimo-Arias appeared in court to answer the charges, but after a year of “numerous court appearances” the charges were dismissed, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the police officers named and others yet to be named violated the two men’s civil rights by using excessive force and falsely arresting and imprisoning them.
Geronimo and Geronimo-Arias are seeking punitive damages against the officers, both economic and non-economic damages, and attorney fees, the lawsuit states.