Essex County Settles Lawsuit With Prison Detainee For $252K: Report

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Officials have reached a six-figure settlement with a man who claims he was pepper sprayed and beaten by correctional officers while housed in a specialized unit for prison inmates with mental health needs in Essex County, a report says.

Details of the settlement were first reported by the Transparency NJ watchdog blog. Read the full post here.

The plaintiff – a pretrial detainee at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark – alleged that a sergeant approached his cell without provocation and pepper sprayed him in February 2021.

The sergeant entered the cell and allegedly hit him repeatedly with his fists and a metal object. Additional officers then joined the assault, the lawsuit contends.

The officers were aware that the inmate had schizoaffective disorder and was receiving daily medication, the lawsuit claims.

The accused sergeant denied the inmate’s allegations in a formal response to the complaint. He was placed on indefinite suspension in March 2021.

Essex County entered into a confidential settlement agreement with the plaintiff, agreeing to pay $252,048 to resolve the lawsuit.

Patch reached out to Essex County officials seeking comment about the settlement. We will update this article with any reply we receive.

• See Related: Staffing Woes Affect Mental Health Care At Essex County Prison: Report
• See Related: Violence Erupts At Essex County Prison; Inmate Slammed By ‘Piledriver’
• See Related: Long-Awaited Review Gives Deep Look Into NJ's Largest County Prison

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