The city of Vineland has agreed to a pay a man $1 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit alleging a group of police officers beat him excessively and ordered a K9 to attack him during an arrest seven years ago in the Cumberland County community.
The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court, claimed Jose L. Paz Jr. was subjected to "unjustified and unreasonable" force by a group of 10 Vineland police officers after Paz was stopped on East Avenue in September 2018.
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Paz, 37, claimed he was approached on the side of the road by Officer James Day, who suspected Paz was under the influence of drugs. When a second officer arrived, the suit claims Paz remained "compliant and cooperative," but was "at times incoherent" during questioning by the officers.
Day allegedly grabbed Paz's wrists suddenly and told him to place his hands on his head. Paz was then taken to the ground as police requested backup from additional officers. Paz was unarmed.
The suit claims Day started punching Paz in the face repeatedly before eight other officers arrived, including one who brought a police dog. Paz alleged he was placed in a submission hold while the group of officers alternated punching and kicking him in the face. The K9 was ordered to bite and hold onto Paz's leg, according to the lawsuit, and one of the officers pepper-sprayed Paz's face.
Paz suffered a broken nose, other injuries to his face and eyes, contusions throughout his body and lacerations from the dog bite, the suit says. Several of the officers allegedly failed to activate their body cameras during the incident and later claimed their devices were not working. Paz said he screamed for help while he was being beaten by police, but the "malicious" attack continued.
Paz was later charged with assault, resisting arrest, obstruction and use of a controlled dangerous substance. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to a single disorderly persons offense and was ordered to pay a $125 fine with no jail time.
The settlement reached on Nov. 6 was first reported by Transparency NJ, which had submitted an Open Public Records request for documents in the case. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, named the city of Vineland and its police department as defendants in addition to the officers involved in the incident.
Police gave a different account of what happened the day of Paz's arrest. One officer's report claimed Paz tried to get away from police and swung at them with closed fists. Day's report claimed Paz appeared to be under the influence of PCP and that he smelled of the drug. Day claimed Paz failed to comply with orders during an attempted search for drugs and tried to bite him.
Paz admitted in his deposition testimony that he had smoked marijuana and PCP earlier in the day before his arrest.
Under the settlement, the city of Vineland and the police officers involved admit no wrongdoing and are cleared from any future litigation related to the incident. The $1 million settlement, which includes Paz's legal fees, must be paid within 30 days of the completed agreement.