-- A city police detective has been indicted on charges he assaulted a 15-year-old boy during a confrontation in March that was captured by a video surveillance camera, then tried to cover it up by falsifying his report.
The video appears to show the plain clothes officer punch the teen without provocation, then shove him and wrestle him to the ground.
The detective, Angel Pared, 28, of Newark, was indicted Friday, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino said at a press conference this afternoon.
“This is a sad day for all law enforcement,” said Laurino, who called it an isolated incident that shouldn’t reflect on the police department. But, he added, “any allegation of police misconduct will be taken very seriously by this office.”
Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy, who stood with Laurino at the press conference, said Pared violated department protocol and safety measures. “The tactics were terrible,” he said. “You can’t justify what occurred.” He called Pared “by all accounts a good officer,” but clearly supported the decision to indict.
Derrick Hatcher, the president of the local police officer’s union, disagreed, saying Pared acted within guidelines and “will be vindicated when this comes to trial.” The officer’s attorney also called the indictment a “rush to judgment.” The video, said the attorney, Anthony Fusco, “is not a clear cut case of anything other than some wrestling.”
But Laurino called the tape “crucial,” adding it “levels the playing field” between civilian and police officer.
Pared, who joined the force in September 2006, remains suspended without pay. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the top charges of excessive force and falsifying reports.
The boy, Travis Rattray, said he was listening to his iPod around 10 p.m. on March 24 outside a Spruce Street apartment complex near his home. The video shows another young man walk by and hand Travis something. Rubin Sinins, Travis’ attorney, said he gave Travis earbuds for an iPod.
Pared, who was working narcotics enforcement for the 3rd Precinct that night, approached Travis almost immediately after the other person left.
The video shows the officer face-to-face with the teen, searching the boy’s pockets. McCarthy criticized Pared’s tactics, saying he should have instead made Travis turn around and face the ground before patting him down.
Pared found nothing illegal during his search, officials said. The University High School sophomore was charged with resisting arrest but the case was dismissed last week, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Sinins said when the officer didn’t find anything after his search, “that should have been the end of it.”
The announcement follows several high-profile allegations of misconduct against other Newark police officers. Less than two weeks before the Spring Street incident, a video emerged showing a Newark police officer appearing to kick a suspect who was being arrested. The alleged assault followed a car chase in which the man arrested, Jamil Richardson, 23, was charged with drunken driving. The officer is still on active duty, but McCarthy has said both incidents will lead to change.
“This agency will maintain a zero tolerance policy for any actions that jeopardize or tarnish the public’s trust,” McCarthy said.