By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ.com
nj.com
RUTHERFORD, N.J.A Bergen County man has sued the Rutherford Police Department, several police officers and the borough, claiming he was violently struck while handcuffed and strapped inside an ambulance.
Brian Caughey, 46, was arrested on a harassment charge during a domestic violence incident the night of June 9, 2024, according to the lawsuit filed May 5.
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The lawsuit says Caughey was handcuffed by officers who placed him in the ambulance so that he could be taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
In the ambulance, Caughey was secured to a bench with a lap belt and an over-the-shoulder restraint harness.
“Mr. Caughey was triply restrained,” states the suit, filed in Superior Court of Bergen County.
“While so restrained – handcuffed, belted and harnessed, calm, unarmed, and posing no objectively reasonable threat to anyone – Mr. Caughey was struck,” the lawsuit claims.
The suit says at least one Rutherford police officer struck Caughey in the head and face, causing a laceration that later required multiple stitches to close.
Additionally, more than 9 minutes are missing from an officer’s body-worn camera video that would have shown the alleged assault, the suit states.
Those 9 minutes were excised from the video “at the direction of, or with the knowledge of one or more agents of the Rutherford Police Department, the Borough of Rutherford, or persons acting in concert with them,” the lawsuit alleges.
Immediately after the alleged edit, Caughey is seen with “multiple, fresh blood drops and stains on his light-blue T-shirt and shorts, and with blood drying on his exposed skin,” the suit says.
The suit alleges the video was edited for the purpose of “obscuring or eliminating visual evidence of the use of force.”
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Caughey’s attorney, Marco Di Stefano, would not speculate as to why Caughey was allegedly struck.
“He was not the most compliant person, but he was restrained. He could not strike the officers,” Di Stefano said.
The harassment charge Caughey was arrested over was later dismissed in court, Di Stefano said.
Borough Administrator Robert J. Kakoleski declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday, saying the borough does not discuss pending litigation.
The lawsuit claims Caughey was attacked in violation of his civil rights and the New Jersey Attorney General’s use-of-force policy.
The policy prohibits police from using all forms of physical force against a civilian, except as a last resort.
“The AG guidelines are very clear. You cannot strike a person who is restrained in that way,” Di Stefano said.
“At that point, he was considered a vulnerable person. It was clearly an assault on my client,” the attorney said.
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