Dangerous White Millville Cop Indicted on 24 Counts of Using Excessive Force, Felony Assaults & 10 Counts of Falsifying Evidence, Reports
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Jeffrey E. Proffit (center) is a suspended Millville police officer facing trial for allegedly abusing as many as 13 people. Proffit and attorney Michael L. Testa Sr. (left) were in Cumberland County Superior Court LAST YEAR.
From [HERE] and [HERE] A white Millville police officer accused of slamming a suspect face-first onto a concrete floor and trying to jam a gun into another man's mouth before pistol-whipping him has been indicted on 24 counts of using excessive force, tampering with evidence and lying to his superiors.
Jeffrey E. Profitt, 39, is accused of using excessive force in five violent arrests and is charged with 10 counts of filing false and incomplete reports about arrests he made between 2013 and 2016. At least one of those arrests resulted in a lawsuit.
Profitt was originally indicted last year on charges related to a 2016 arrest in which he allegedly threw a 62-year-old man, Alphonzo Williams, to a concrete floor in the police station's sally port, causing serious facial injuries after a disorderly conduct arrest. At that time, the eight charges were: Aggravated assault/second degree; aggravated assault/third degree; two charges of tampering with public records or information/ third degree; tampering with physical evidence/fourth degree; obstructing administration of the law/fourth degree; official misconduct/second degree; and pattern of official misconduct/second degree.
Profitt sought to have the count of pattern of official misconduct/second degree separated from the other seven, which dealt specifically with the incident involving Alphonzo Williams Sr. [MORE]
A judge granted that move, but prosecutors appealed the decision. In June, appellate court judges sent the matter back to the lower court to reconsider severing the counts into two separate cases.
Prosecutors expanded on the pattern of misconduct allegations contained in that eighth count and took their case back to a Cumberland County grand jury, which handed up this week's superseding indictment.
The charges include multiple counts of official misconduct, aggravated assault, endangering another person, terroristic threats, tampering with physical evidence, tampering with records and obstructing the administration of law.
The allegations involving Alphonzo Williams’ injuries stem from an April 11, 2016 arrest at a liquor store where he was allegedly "causing public alarm," according to Profitts police report. EMTs arriving at the police station because of the man's apparent intoxication testified that they saw Profitt pick up A.W. and throw him to the floor.
"A.W.'s face, according to one of the EMT witnesses, hit the concrete floor like 'a pumpkin smashing,'" according to details described in the appellate court ruling.
The state claims Profitt misled superior officers about the extent of Alphonzo Williams injuries, describing it as a mere nosebleed. As a result, a lieutenant called for maintenance staff to clean up the area, rather than ordering an investigation. Hours later, after a pool of blood had been cleaned up, the lieutenant learned how seriously A.W. had been injured.
The man required three hours of surgery to repair facial fractures.
In the meantime, Profitt laundered his uniform to get rid of blood evidence, prosecutors allege.
The indictment goes on to accuse Profitt of using excessive force in four other cases.
In an incident from Oct. 8, 2014, Profitt arrested a man identified as W.H., and while the officer's report made no mention of injuries, the man's arrest photo showed facial swelling, bruising and "copious blood around his nose and forehead," according to appellate documents related to the first indictment. The new indictment states that Profitt grabbed W.H. and threw him, causing the man to hit the ground face-first.
On May 3, 2015, he allegedly grabbed O.P. from behind and threw him to the ground, smashing his face onto a stone driveway.
On Dec. 12, 2015, Profitt allegedly forced H.G. against the exterior of a restaurant, then threw him face-first onto large landscaping rocks.
On July 16, 2015 Kenneth Harden [Black man in photo] was driving home from Atlantic City with a person identified as Desiree Best when Proffit stopped his vehicle. According to a lawsuit fled by Harden,
“After Plaintiff’s vehicle was stopped, Defendant Proffit forced Plaintiff out of his vehicle and without provocation punched Plaintiff numerous times in the face and about his body,” the suit states. “Fearing for his safety, Plaintiff began to flee from Officer Proffit who began to give chase to Plaintiff.”
The suit states that Proffit pulled his pistol during the foot chase and Harden, seeing it, stopped running. Harden claims he was forced to the ground, where Proffit tried to shove the pistol in his mouth.
“Officer Proffit subsequently pistol-whipped Plaintiff on the back-right side of his head causing Plaintiff’s head to split open and begin bleeding,” the suit adds. Harden then was processed on a resisting arrest charge and taken to a hospital.
The suit alleges “deliberate indifference” on the part of the city and Police Chief Jody Farabella as a factor in Proffit’s behavior.
Prosecutors charge that Profitt failed to file "truthful, accurate and complete" Attorney General use of force reports about those arrests and five others that occurred between 2013 and 2015. He also didn't report the severity of the injuries suffered by the people he arrested.
He was also the focal point of another lawsuit. The estate of Joey Myers is suing Proffit and Millville police for allegedly unleashing a police K-9 on Myers after he was apprehended as a burglary suspect. Among the injuries alleged in that lawsuit, the dog tore off a piece of Myers' ear. [MORE] The facts from said suit apparently are not apart of his current criminal case.
"We can only assume that the conduct of Officer Proffit is an example of a police officer gone wild without proper supervision or discipline," Attorney Conrad J. Benedetto said in a statement.
Apparently Profitt joined the department in 2012 and is currently suspended without pay, according to a department spokesman. Police Chief Jody Farabella could not be reached for comment.
Profitt is free pending future court appearances. He's due back before a judge on Nov. 9 for a post-indictment arraignment.
