Elizabeth cops broke man’s ribs while arresting him, lawsuit says – NJ.com

A man claims in a federal lawsuit Elizabeth cops entered his home about two years ago and broke his ribs while arresting him shortly after an unrelated police-involved shooting outside his apartment that authorities say is under review.

Jake Bassitt and his wife, Angela Tejada, filed suit this week against Elizabeth and Marquis Terry, the police officer they say initiated the arrest. Bassitt was charged with obstruction, the lawsuit says, but his case was dismissed and sealed.

“Shortly after shooting an unarmed black man, Elizabeth cops barged into our client’s home without a warrant, where a gang of out-of-control cops held an innocent man on the ground, and with his wife and children watching, brutally assaulted him and broke his ribs,” said one of Bassitt’s attorneys, Joshua McMahon.

Elizabeth spokeswoman Kelly Martins did not respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit is suing under several claims, including excessive force and unlawful entry.

Several Elizabeth cops entered Bassitt’s apartment on Dec. 22, 2018, the suit said, the same night they responded to a domestic violence call on Court Street, near where Bassitt lived, and then shot Michael Bates. Police claimed Bates had a gun, but body camera footage shows he told police he was only holding a cellphone.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office was originally reviewing the shooting since one of the cops had a professional relationship with the Union County office. An Essex County Prosector’s Office spokeswoman said this week it sent its findings to the state Attorney General’s Office and the incident is still under review there.

Bates’ shooting occurred at a time when county prosecutor’s offices investigated police-involved shootings, but a state law now requires the Attorney General’s office to handle them. The state Attorney General’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the status of the investigation.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told NJ Advance Media a complaint involving Bassitt’s arrest was never submitted to them.

The suit says Elizabeth police were removing bullet fragments from the frame of the first-floor door of Bassitt’s building around 3 a.m., shortly after Bates was shot. The building is owned by Bassitt and he lives on the second floor, the suit said.

A one-minute video was provided to NJ Advance Media of police arresting Bassitt.

It shows Bassitt opening the door of his apartment and walking onto the landing after asking the person who was filming if they were recording. The person recording mutters, “He’s going to get arrested,” before Bassitt folds his arms at the foot of the stairs and asks Terry, the police officer, “How you doing, sir?”

Terry’s footsteps could be heard walking up the stairs as Bassitt moves back into his apartment.

“I told you, right?” Terry says. “Come outside again and obstruction.”

Terry is seen grabbing Bassitt’s wrist as he pulls away into the apartment and the wife gets between them. Terry shouts for more officers to “come here.”

Bassitt, his wife and Terry are then seen on the floor inside the home and at least three more officers run upstairs into the apartment.

Bassit is represented by McMahon and the same attorney who originally represented Bates: Abraham Rubert-Schewel. Bates signaled his intent to sue in a tort claim, but he is no longer represented by Rubert-Schewel.

Police had separated two people when they responded to the domestic violence call on Dec. 22, 2018 and were talking to them when Bates walked up to the scene on the corner of Court and Third Streets. Rubert-Schewel said he was unsure if police were responding to a domestic violence call at Bassitt’s apartment since its a multi-family home with a bodega underneath.

Marquis has been an Elizabeth police officer since 2012. He had 14 uses of force from 2012 to 2016, according to NJ Advance Media’s Force Report. That would be below the average amount of force used by other cops in his department during that time period.

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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.