Maplewood Teen Who Said He Was Beaten By Police Settles Suit

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Nearly three years after Jason McDougall said he was marched out of town and allegedly beaten by police after a July Fourth celebration, the Maplewood teen and his family have settled their lawsuit.

In an order filed Feb. 20 in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey by Judge Kevin McNulty, a settlement was reached with the town. The details of that settlement were not released to the public.

What was released was a statement from Maplewood advocacy group Black Parents Workshop. The group not only lobbied for justice for McDougall and the other teens involved in the incident but their chairman, Walter Field, also filed an ethics charge against South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad who called police officers "skinheads" after a motor vehicle stop.

The Black Parents Workshop said McDougall reached an “amicable settlement” with the town, and they applauded the outcome.

“We are pleased to learn that a modicum of justice has been received by Mr. McDougall, a young person from our community, for the treatment he received on July 5, 2016," Fields said. "Nothing can compensate for the indignities Jason suffered on that night, in his own community. We stood by this young man from the beginning because we believed then, and do now, that Black youth in our community deserve to be treated with respect and afforded the courtesies extended to any citizen. We are encouraged that the new leadership of the Maplewood Police Department will continue to make efforts to reform police practices in the community.”

Following the celebration, police engaged in a standoff with what officers called "a large group of disorderly youths" who allegedly resisted arrest and refused to leave the area following the township’s fireworks show near the Maplewood-Irvington border.

At the time, Maplewood police stated that officers were "significantly outnumbered" and were rushed by a group of individuals that had already been ordered to disperse.

But according to Fields, video showed that there never was a fight and the teens were assaulted. You can see the video below.

"The youth were harassed, shoved, body-slammed, pepper-sprayed, punched and kicked as they were simply trying to return to their homes… in Maplewood and South Orange," the SOMA Black Parents Workshop stated in a release.

For his part, McDougall maintained that was complying with the officers’ commands. Despite that, the Columbia High School graduate said he was pepper sprayed, kicked in the head and beaten by officers.

The incident sparked immediate backlash, leading to an investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's officer and an internal town investigation that led to the resignation of Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino and Captain Joshua J. Cummis.

It also led to McDougall's lawsuit.

McDougall was represented by Robert Tarver, who also serves as counsel for the SOMA Black Parents Workshop.

"I have to commend Attorney Tarver for providing the necessary representation for Mr. McDougall. Too often, victims of police misconduct are without proper legal representation. These cases are not easy to litigate, complex and victims habitually are at a disadvantage when going up against government institutions," Fields said. "We have witnessed far too many cases across the country where victims of police brutality have been betrayed by our justice system. We are pleased that Mr. McDougall had proper representation. As is the case with our work in public education, we seek outcomes that result in justice for the aggrieved."

Since the incident and the changing of the guard at the Maplewood Police Department, the town also hired the firm Hillard Heinze to look at police reform measures.

"Since the July 2016 incident we have had multiple conversations with the new leadership of the Maplewood Police Department and have been encouraged by its transparency and willingness to engage in honest and straightforward conversations regarding improving policing in our community," Fields said.

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