Police officer accused of beating, dragging handcuffed suspect in New Jersey
ELIZABETH, New Jersey (WABC) --
A police officer in Elizabeth, New Jersey is suspended without pay and facing the charge of simple assault after a man in custody was severely beaten.
The video, which has been edited by the victim's attorney, is violent and disturbing to watch.
Raul Tornes is seen in handcuffs being choked, beaten, and dragged inside the Elizabeth police department. The 27-year-old victim is claiming police brutality
"I was struck in the ribs, struck in the chest, getting kneed in my face, kicked in my face, punched in my face, and I'm getting hit in areas where you have vital organs," said Tornes.
He says he lost a gall bladder from the beating and still suffers from extreme anxiety and post concussion problems
"My eye was shut closed. My lip was swollen. I had blood all over me," he said.
Raul is a DJ. He says he had never been arrested before and had a good relationship with police. But last October, Elizabeth officers showed up at his home after his girlfriend called them over a dispute.
What happened next was a series of violent beatings caught on police body cams and surveillance cameras. There are other officers engaged, but no one seems to be stopping the attacks.
Tornes was handcuffed throughout and is heard screaming in pain.
"For him to do that with all of those cameras there is scary because it is indicative of a culture," said the victim's attorney Joshua McMahon.
The charges were quickly dropped against Tornes but it has taken almost a year for charges to be brought against Elizabeth Police Officer Edward Shields. A grand jury on Friday indicted him on one count of simple assault.
"A cop who is this dangerous, armed with a gun, making well over $100,000 a year in taxpayer money, this is not someone who should be on streets with people," said McMahon.
"I didn't think I was going to survive because of the abuse I was taking," said Tornes.
Raul's attorney says Officer Shields has 50 instances of using force while on the job.
The Union County Prosecutors Office released the following statement:
" The Union County Prosecutors Office takes allegations of misconduct or violence on the part of police officers extremely seriously as is reflected by the decision to twice present the matter to grand jury. We feel that the grand jury decision reached on Friday speaks for itself".
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Cop accused of hitting, dragging handcuffed man in police station
An Elizabeth police officer is being accused of beating, choking and dragging a handcuffed suspect in the department's headquarters.
Officer Edward Shields was indicted Friday on a simple assault charge by a grand jury, Union County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Mark Spivey said. An earlier grand jury was presented with the case in April, but no charges were brought, Spivey said.
Shields, who's been with the department for over 10 years, has been suspended without pay according to Ruby Contreras, spokesman for Elizabeth Police Department Department.
The incident occurred Sept. 29, 2017 during the arrest of Raul Tornes, 27, of Elizabeth after Tornes had a dispute with his girlfriend, Tornes' attorney, Josh McMahon said. Spivey said Tornes was handcuffed and brought to the station for questioning related to an unspecified investigation.
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Lying Lucas is #41
Former Passaic County Sheriff Officer Ronald A. Lucas Defrauded the New Jersey Police and Firemen Retirement Fund by Falsely Claiming on the job Injury
RONALD A. LUCAS, 60, OF POMPTON LAKES, A FORMER PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICER, LIED DURING HIS GRAND JURY TESTIMONY WHEN HE CLAIMED THAT HE INJURED HIS LEFT SHOULDER DURING A FALL AT A PROPERTY ON JUNE 28, 2011
As part of an investigation
we have been performing, we discovered that Ronald A. Lucas, a former Passaic
County sheriff officer with the Civil Division lied about his on-the-job
shoulder injury. Lucas claimed that he fell
on the job on June 28, 2011 at 687 Indian Road, Wayne, NJ and that he injured
his left shoulder requiring several pins.
He then filed a disability claim with the New Jersey Division of
Pensions and Benefits (Police and Firemen Retirement System). He was granted disability for one year with
subsequent review. After he retired with
claimed disability, he obtained a job as part-time security guard at the
Pequannock High School.
Bombshell
evidence contradicting Lying Lucas’ injury claims: We have obtained a report by Lt. Nick Mango
who stated that nobody was injured at the scene. The report by Lucas also states that he
stumbled and not fell.
We discovered that Mr. Lucas
suffered shoulder injuries while playing football and lifting heavy weights
over his lifetime. He was a linebacker
with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals (he played at position #41), using his
shoulder to hit and tackle his opponents during practice and during football
games. He also lifted very heavy weights
to do body building. Lucas has fallen on
his shoulder probably thousand times during his athletic and training career.
Everybody knows that
linebackers hit and tackle their opponents using their shoulders. These athletes also lift heavy weights and
they end-up injuries their shoulders. He (Lucas) even made the All County Team in
1980, showing how hard he was working out.
Based on our investigation, we found that weight lifting athletes do
suffer shoulder injuries of the type claimed by Lucas.
He also trained his two sons
(Dean Lucas and Ronnie Lucas) into playing TE and DE positions also with the
Cardinals football team. In fact,
linebackers suffer at least 13.5 percent of all football injuries and at least
65 percent of the linebackers end up undergoing surgery.
Lt.
Nick Mango wrote in his June 28, 2011 report that “nobody was hurt”. Also,
Lucas never wrote in his June 28, 2018 report that he was injured. He specifically wrote: “As I
entered the woods I stumbled”. He
never wrote that he was injured.
However, during this grand jury testimony, he provided a diametrically
different picture:
Lucas
claimed that he fell on his elbow and shoulder, but was able to regain his
balance, and he ran into a wooded area to seek cover behind a large boulder. Lucas claimed that he tore his biceps and had
surgery on his shoulder, and “ended up having a pretty severe injury” in his
shoulder, requiring “five pins.” Of
course we now know that this guy was a football player and body builder and
suffered these injuries over his many years of lifting heavy weights and
hitting his opponents with his shoulder (he was a linebacker with the Pompton
Lakes Cardinals at #41). This guy then
defrauded the Police and Firemen Retirement Fund by claiming disability and
started the double dipping.
So,
from flip-flopping regarding the color of the gun; to whether the door was
closed or open; to whether he knocked the door or not; to whether he suffered a
major injury or not, Lying Lucas has some serious credibility issues; and all
his lies were allowed to poison the grand jury deliberations.
We have obtained photos
showing Mr. Lucas lifting weights, after his alleged job-ending
disability. See for example the attached
image that is dated December 2013.
It is obvious to a
reasonable and objective person that Lucas (in his mid-50s) took this incident
on June 28, 2011 to claim on-the job-injury to be able to repair his previously
injured shoulder at taxpayers’ expense and to retire and then blame Basilis
Stephanatos for his injuries. After he
retired, he started the double dipping.
The finest of New Jersey at "work".