FBI Fees Paterson Officers With Civil Rights Violations In Beating Of Arab-American Resident

Two Paterson police officers beat a 19-year-old Arab-American man and then lied about it, federal authorities said, alleging they were violating the victim’s civil rights.

29-year-old officer Kevin Patino surrendered to federal agents Tuesday morning and was to be followed by Kendry Tineo-Restituyo, 28, said incumbent US attorney Rachael A. Honig.

Both are charged with “depriving a victim of their constitutional right to be free from the use of improper force by law enforcement officers and to file a false police report,” Honig said.

Patino and Tineo-Restituyo approached Osamah Alsaidi, who was walking with his hands in his pockets on the night of December 14, the US attorney said.

What they didn’t know was that area surveillance cameras were recording (see below).

“Patino grabbed the victim,” said Honey. “When the victim tried to separate, Patino hit the victim several times in the face and body.

“While Patino was beating the victim, Tineo-Restituyo picked up the victim and threw it to the ground. Patino and Tineo-Restituyo then repeatedly hit the victim while he was on the ground. “

Patino and Tineo-Restituyo filed a fake police report about the incident, Honey said.

For example, it was said that Alsaidi had approached the officers, had “screamed swearwords” and “acted in a warlike manner” and then punched Patino in the chest.

“None of that was true,” said Honing.

The report also didn’t say they beat Alsaidi while he was on the floor, she said.

“These officers came out of nowhere to prevent me from going and to beat me on my own block,” said Alsaidi, describing the unprovoked attack earlier this year.

“Then [another officer] attacking me in the hospital away from cameras and people to evade witnesses, ”he said.

Alsaidi, who was diagnosed with head trauma and a concussion, said he “walked on my block towards my car to go to work” in the 1245 Madison Avenue area around 12:30 pm when a city police car “to block “I pulled up from walking in her car. “

The two officers “got out of the car and beat me for no reason,” said Alsaidi.

After knocking him down, he said, “They kept banging my head on the floor, which made me faint for a moment.”

The video.

CAIRtv

They arrested him and charged him with a serious assault on a police officer who resisted the arrest and disorderly conduct, Alsaidi said in February.

Another officer “took me to the hospital and I told the nurse how I got my injuries,” he said.

Alsaidi said he was released before his injuries could be treated. One officer “hit me, threw me in the car and slammed the door,” he said.

“After my release, I went to the hospital alone and was diagnosed with head trauma and a concussion (I got the papers from the hospital). I had migraines and was partially blind for the next few weeks. “

Patino and Tineo-Restituyo “wrote a fake police report stating that I went to these officers and hit Patino in the chest and let him fall back,” said Alsaidi. “They also wrote that I packed Patino’s vest and tried to take his police radio and Tineo came and arrested me.

“The video shows the truth, it shows what actually happened.”

“I was 19 years old at the time and have no criminal record. I was humiliated and treated like an animal. I thought they would kill me at the police station, ”said Alsaidi. “I can’t even go IN MY OWN TOWN without fear that these cops will attack me again.”

The office of the New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal began investigating the incident before it was turned over to federal authorities.

“Police officers should adhere to the highest possible standards,” Honey said. “These two defendants did not do that.

“Attacking a suspect and then falsifying official police reports to cover him up can never be tolerated,” she added. “These are criminal acts by defendants who should know better.”

Honey wrote to special agents from the FBI, the Attorney General, the Passaic County Attorney’s Office, and the North Jersey Public Corruption Task Force, comprised of members of the FBI and the New Jersey State Police, to conduct the investigations into the charges.

The case was handled for the government by Joseph Gribko, Senior Civil Rights Counsel for the Honey Criminal Division in Newark.

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