Name: NJ attorney general investigating claims of Paterson cops repeatedly punching man on video
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NJ attorney general investigating claims of Paterson cops repeatedly punching man on video

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Joe MalinconicoPaterson PressView CommentsA man's claim that Paterson police officers&nbsp;struck him 15 times while arresting him Dec. 14&nbsp;— all while being recorded on video —&nbsp;is under investigation by the Attorney General's Office.&nbsp;A brief statement issued Monday by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said his Public Integrity&nbsp;Office was looking into possible misconduct involving the allegations the man was assaulted “without provocation.” But the state has not provided further details.The incident was captured on a video that has been posted on social media by the man struck by the officers and by the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which is calling for two of the cops involved to be fired.The man, Osamah Alsaidi, who was 19 at the time, said on social media that he suffered a concussion and head trauma. Alsaidi said he reported the alleged police brutality to Paterson’s Internal Affairs Division two months ago, but he asserted, “They still haven’t done anything.”Story continues below.&nbsp;Alsaidi also posted a copy of what he says was a police report filed by one of the officers about the arrest. That report contradicts what the video shows in several instances.Alsaidi and the Islamic group have not revealed who recorded the incident. The video seems to come from an elevated security camera across the street from the incident, which happened on Madison Avenue, near Getty Avenue.For example, the report says Alsaidi walked toward the officers and then got closer to them, but the video clearly shows the man standing virtually still with his hands in his pockets while the cops approached him. &nbsp;The police report also says Alsaidi took “an aggressive fighting stance by blading,” the practice of turning toward one’s side during a confrontation. The video seems to show one of the officers putting his hand on Alsaidi’s shoulder in what looks like an attempt to turn the man’s back to the officers, usually part of the process for handcuffing someone.The police report alleges that Alsaidi struck one of the officers in the chest with a closed fist. The video does not give a clear image of a punch being thrown by Alsaidi. The camera was positioned behind the officers’ backs, which blocked some of what took place.“There is an active investigation, and the Prosecutor’s Office has been notified,” said Mayor Andre Sayegh.The mayor declined to say whether he viewed the video. He cited the ongoing investigation as his reason for not commenting further.Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale confirmed that the case has been referred to the prosecutor. “This will be thoroughly investigated, as are all matters under attorney general guidelines,” Speziale said.Officials said the referral to the prosecutor was standard practice and not any indication that Paterson believes the officers did something wrong.Alsaidi did not respond to multiple inquiries seeking an interview with him. The American-Islamic group said Alsaidi has retained a lawyer in the matter and may hold a press conference about the incident later this week.“The disturbing video shows two officers approach and beat the youth to the ground,” said Selaedin Maksut, the executive director for CAIR in New Jersey. “The teen posed no visible threat to either officer and was not given an opportunity to comply with the officer’s orders —&nbsp;assuming any orders were even given. Instead, the teen was brutalized while two additional offices came to clear the area of witnesses.”“The officers then allegedly fabricated a story in their police report to cover up their assault,” Maksut added. “Their report was proven to be false once the video surfaced almost two months later.”For subscribers:.Paterson:Mason Maher, president of the union that represents Paterson’s ranking police officers, said he watched the video and found it “hard to decipher” what exactly happened.“I have full confidence in our Internal Affairs detectives’ ability to get to the facts of what happened,” Maher said. “I don’t believe our Internal Affairs division would try to cover something up.”Alsaidi was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Those charges are still pending, officials said.The police report has Officer Kevin Patino’s name typed at the bottom, indicating he wrote it. The report also says Officer Kendry Tineo was involved in the interaction with Alsaidi. The two officers started working as cops in Paterson in 2017.The police report says Patino and Tineo were driving an unmarked police vehicle at about 12:30 a.m. on what was a Monday morning when they got a report of a suspicious person near 1245 Madison Ave. The report says “a male walked towards these officers screaming profanities and acting belligerent causing a disturbance.”Alsaidi said on social media that he was walking near his home on his way to his car to go to work when the officers pulled over and blocked him.The video does not come with audio, so there’s no way to confirm whether he was screaming profanities at the officers.&nbsp;The video shows Alsaidi seeming to resist one officer’s attempt to get him to turn his back to them. In about two seconds, that officer then started striking Alsaidi with about 12 blows to his head and body, the video showed.A struggle ensued between the two cops and Alsaidi, until they were able to lift him and tackle him to the pavement, the video showed. One of the officers then struck Alsaidi about three more times while they pinned him to the ground, the video showed.After handcuffing Alsaidi, the officers lifted him to his feet and walked with him beyond the scope of the camera.On social media, Alsaidi said another officer took him to the hospital for his injuries. But he said that after he told a nurse what happened, the officer, Bishnu McKnight, “made them discharge me from the hospital.” He said the officer punched him before driving him to police headquarters.After his release from custody, Alsaidi said, he returned to the hospital for treatment of his concussion.A spokeswoman for St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Pam Garretson, confirmed that Alsaidi was treated at the emergency room and released two times on Dec. 14. But she said patient confidentiality laws precluded her from providing additional information.View Comments

Joe MalinconicoPaterson PressView CommentsA man's claim that Paterson police officers&nbsp;struck him 15 times while arresting him Dec. 14&nbsp;— all while being recorded on video —&nbsp;is under investigation by the Attorney General's Office.&nbsp;A brief statement issued Monday by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said his Public Integrity&nbsp;Office was looking into possible misconduct involving the allegations the man was assaulted “without provocation.” But the state has not provided further details.The incident was captured on a video that has been posted on social media by the man...

NJ attorney general investigating claims of Paterson cops repeatedly punching man on video

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