Newark cop accused of killing estranged wife is sued by wife’s boyfriend – NorthJersey.com

A former Newark police lieutenant accused of killing his estranged wife was sued in federal court on Tuesday by the woman’s boyfriend, who also named the Newark Police Department.

Christine Solaro, 37, and Timothy Simonson were shot multiple times on the evening of July 14, 2019, by John Formisano, a 24-year veteran of the Newark Police Department.

The lawsuit alleges that the city police department failed to strip Formisano of his gun and badge after he had shown suicidal behavior and indicated in front of other officers that he was thinking of hurting himself.

Additionally, the suit alleges that the Newark Police Department knew he had made these statements and knew of Formisano’s “deteriorating mental state,” which worried other officers, but failed to provide him mental health treatment.

Simonson’s lawyers filed a public records request for documents regarding complaints against Formisano and investigations of the officer but were denied, according to the suit.

Available public records showed Formisano was accused of serious misconduct only four years after becoming a police officer and was suspended for 35 days, the lawsuit says. He was also reported twice for his use of force between 2012 and 2016.

“That Formisano was actually disciplined is particularly stark and raises questions about his fitness for duty in light of the [fact] Newark Police Department was notorious for its consistent and systemic failure to properly supervise officers,” the suit reads.

The lawsuit accuses the Police Department of failing to “properly train, supervise, screen discipline, transfer, counsel or otherwise properly equip and control officers,” including those who are known to use excessive or deadly force and are a potential danger to themselves and the community. 

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Solaro and Simonson went to bed at Solaro’s Jefferson home at 9:30 p.m. Around 11:30 p.m. they saw a flashlight shining in the yard, prompting Solaro to investigate, according to the lawsuit. Court documents show that Formisano had filed for divorce against Solaro in state Superior Court in Morris County on June 7.

Solaro allegedly discovered Formisano holding his police-issued flashlight; e was still wearing his police uniform and carrying his service weapon.

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When Formisano saw Solaro, he shot her multiple times in front of the house before kicking in the front door and shooting Simonson with hollow-tip bullets, the lawsuit says. Exiting the home, he shot Solaro again, killing her, and fled, leaving Simonson to crawl to the living room with a shattered femur and call 911, according to the lawsuit.

Formisano told officers he “blacked out” when he saw that his wife was with a man in the bedroom and starting shooting, according to the affidavit.

The estranged couple’s children were home at the time of the shooting, crying in their bedroom. According to the lawsuit, Simonson was on the phone with 911 for over an hour while he bled. A SWAT team was assembled before he was taken to Morristown Medical Center for emergency surgery.

Simonson was not the only person to call 911. Two neighbors reported the shooting, one saying that Christine Formisano was dying in front of her house. Christine Formisano was found dead on the front steps of the neighbor’s house with gunshot wounds in her abdomen, arm, leg and head.

Formisano was arrested the next morning at 1:30 a.m. in Livingston, 30 miles from the crime scene, and charged with first-degree murder. He spent months in the psychiatric unit at St. Clare’s Behavioral Health in Boonton and the Anne Klein Psychiatric Facility in Trenton.

Formisano, who pleaded not guilty in February, is expected to appear in court on Jan. 25, before Judge David Ironson in regards to the criminal case.

Kaitlyn Kanzler covers Essex County for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kanzler@northjersey.com

Twitter: @KaitlynKanzler8