PATERSON, N.J. (AP) - Two Paterson police officers late last year attacked a person, hitting him in the face and body, and then falsely filed a report saying the person punched one of them in the chest and was “screaming profanities” at them, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said Tuesday in a statement.
Officers Kevin Patino, 29, and Kendry Tineo-Restituyo, 28, both of Paterson, have been charged with depriving a victim of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by police and with filing a false police report, according to the statement.
Patino entered a not guilty plea and will be vindicated when “all the facts are presented in a court of law,” attorney Anthony Iacullo said in a statement.
Tineo-Restituyo’s attorney, Patrick Caserta, said his client would have “plenty to say” when the right time came.
U.S. Magistrate Judge André Espinosa said during an initial appearance held remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic that he would sign an order allowing the officers to be released on a $50,000 unsecured bond, along with other conditions.
Both officers’ attorneys also waived a preliminary hearing.
No further details of the case were discussed in the Tuesday hearing.
A motive for the attack and certain details about the circumstances aren’t known.
But court documents say that early on Dec. 14, the officers approached the unidentified victim, who was walking with his hands in his pockets. Patino then grabbed him, according to authorities, and struck him in his face and body a number of times as he tried to separate himself from the officer. Tineo-Restituyo then picked the person up and threw him to the ground, the U.S. attorney’s statement said. Both officers then hit the person while he was on the ground, authorities say.
The officers filed a police report with false statements and omissions, including wrongly saying that the victim walked toward the police and was “screaming profanities” and “acting belligerent,” the statement said. The officers also reported that the person punched Patino in the chest.
“None of that was true,” the U.S. attorney said.
The police report also left out that the officers continued to strike the victim after the he was on the ground, Honig’s statement said.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The second carries a top sentence of 20 years in prison, along with $250,000 in fines for each charge.
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