White NJ Cops Assaulted a Handcuffed Black Man having an Epilpetic Seizure. Cops Pressed Him Face Down in the Street w/Full Body weight until he stopped breathing. Govt Request to Dismiss Case Denied

From [HERE] A federal judge has denied the government’s request to dismiss a Black man’s lawsuit alleging excessive force by police officers who put their body weight on him while he was lying face-down in handcuffs, 

In the lawsuit, Taharqa Dean says he was arrested after Deptford police officers mistakenly believed he was breaking into a car outside a deli in December 2011.

Taharqa Dean appeared to stop breathing during the September 2015 incident and was hospitalized with injuries for more than a week, according to a decision by U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman.

The judge said police body-cam video of the encounter was inconclusive on key points, requiring a jury to resolve disputed facts of a chaotic encounter.

Dean's attorney, Stanley King of Woodbury, believes the video supports the lawsuit's claims. According to the complaint;

On or around September 23, 2015 at approximately 9:00 a.m., Plaintiff suffered a seizure while walking on Reading Street near his home. He fell to the ground, where he laid unconscious until someone discovered him and called 911.

Glassboro Police Officers Michael Fanfarillo and Kyle Snyder responded to the 911 call regarding a man lying on the ground having a seizure.

Fanfarillo stated that upon his arrival, he observed Dean lying on the ground having a seizure. He stated that Dean was sweating profusely, semi-conscious, breathing heavily, and severely disoriented

Fanfarillo knew Dean and knew that Dean suffered from seizures. The paramedics arrived shortly after Fanfarillo and Snyder. They evaluated Dean and determined that he needed to be transported to Kennedy Hospital for treatment.

The paramedics placed Dean on a stretcher, secured him with safety straps, placed the stretcher in the ambulance and headed for Kennedy Hospital.

While the ambulance was en route to the hospital, Dean began to unloosen the straps and attempted to get off of the stretcher. He was still in the midst of his seizure.

The paramedics called the police for assistance in getting Dean safely back onto the stretcher. Fanfarillo and Snyder again responded to the call.

When they arrived, the officers opened the rear doors of the ambulance and saw Dean standing with the safety straps tangled around his legs. Dean’s pants were down below his knees. Fanfarillo attempted to speak to Dean, but Dean did not respond. Fanfarillo stated that he “could see that [Dean] still appeared to be disoriented.”

Dean then adjusted his clothes and attempted to exit the ambulance by stepping out of the rear doors.

Snyder grabbed and tackled Dean, causing Dean to fall out of ambulance and onto the street. Fanfarillo and Snyder immediately began a merciless assault on Dean, all the while telling him to “stop resisting.”

Dean did not have the presence of mind to resist. He repeatedly asked, “Why” and pleaded for his father, “John,” as the officers continued their assault.

After Dean was secured in handcuffs and bleeding from cuts and abrasions on his head and face, Snyder sprayed Dean with OC spray. Officers Visceglia, Moore and Gray responded to the scene within a few moments and immediately began to join the assault on Dean.

None of the officers on the scene attempted to stop the other officers from their unlawful use of force on Dean. The officers were wearing body cameras that depicted the entire event.

Although the video recordings clearly depict Dean’s conduct and innocence, Defendants charged Dean with Aggravated Assault on Police Officer in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(5)(A), Disorderly Conduct in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2A(1), and Disarming a Law Enforcement Officer in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C-12-11A.

To support the charge of Disarming a Law Enforcement Officer, Michael Fanarillo stated in his police report that he observed Dean reaching for Snyder’s gun. Snyder also falsely stated in his police report and in sworn testimony given to the grand jury that Dean grabbed his gun and attempted to remove it from its holster.

These statements and testimony were false and not supported by the video recording.

All of the criminal charges against Dean were ultimately dismissed. The conduct of Defendants Michael Fanfarillo, Snyder, Moore, Visceglia and Gray as alleged above was conscious shocking, intentional, willful, malicious, and demonstrates Defendants’ deliberate indifference to the constitutionally protected rights of Plaintiff.

As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid acts of Defendants, the plaintiff suffered, emotional pain and suffering, and grievous bodily harm—including rotator cuff injuries requiring surgery, nerve damage in his wrists, bulging disks in his neck and back and head trauma.

According to the ruling, the police turned Dean face-down on the street and officers knelt and placed their body weight on his legs and backside during an attempt to secure his ankles.

Officers kept their weight on Dean's body after a tranquilizing drug had been administered into his torso, the decision adds.

It says Dean "continued to scream and attempted to move his hands." Officers commanded him to calm down, saying "they would get off of him when he did so."

“It’s obvious he doesn’t even realize people are talking to him,” King said of his client's behavior on the video. "If he's out of it, why do you treat him as someone who's disobeying you?"

When Dean appeared to calm down, the EMTs and officers realized he'd apparently stopped breathing, the ruling continued. Dean was given oxygen to revive him, then was removed in an ambulance.

"In sum, from the time (Dean) was handcuffed, laid face down, and had his ankles secured, approximately six minutes passed with officers collectively pressing their body weight into the plaintiff’s body until he stopped breathing on his own," the ruling said.

King said Dean was accused of aggravated assault and trying to take an officer's weapon, but the charges were dismissed.

"They charged him in an attempt to justify their use of force," the lawyer asserted. "If you see where he’s capable of trying to disarm an officer, please let me know.’

In his July 22 ruling, Hillman dismissed some claims in the lawsuit, saying police were shown to have acted properly until Dean was handcuffed.

"It would not have been proper for the (police) to essentially allow (Dean) to leave and walk away while in the middle of what any reasonable person would view as a medical emergency," the ruling said. Right, judge so they attempted to kill him in order to help him.

But the judge said Dean could argue police used excessive force after he was handcuffed. The suit seeks unspecified damages from Glassboro's municipal government.

Once the facts were determined, Hillman said, he would rule on whether the officers could claim qualified immunity against the lawsuit.