Mercer Co. Cops Raided The Wrong Home, Broke Occupant's Arm: Lawsuit

MERCER COUNTY, NJ —An "unlawful" raid at the wrong house that ended in a broken arm for a Mercer County man has prompted a civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement, according to court documents.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 19 at the U.S. District Court, named as defendants officers from the Trenton Police Department, the City of Trenton, the U.S. Marshals Service and the NJ State Police.

Quasean Goldstein, 34, and his mother Jacqueline Duette, 65, allege officers “used unlawful force” by applying handcuffs to Goldstein in an excessively tight manner which resulted in a distal-radius fracture causing “nerve damage, continued pain, and permanent injury.”

On Jan. 19, 2021, around 4 a.m., law enforcement arrived at the home of Goldstein and Duette and began banging loudly on the door, according to court documents.

Goldstein and Duette said they were “alarmed, frightened, and confused,” and when Goldstein opened the door, members of the task force grabbed him and “forced him outside the home, without shoes and in his underwear only,” the lawsuit alleges. The officers entered the home unlawfully without a warrant of probable cause, the suit said.

The officers placed Goldstein in handcuffs and dragged him from the home for approximately 20 feet from the house in freezing temperatures, the suit alleges. Despite Goldstein complaining that the handcuffs were excessively tight, the officers brought him back home and began searching the residence for 30 to 45 minutes, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said that instead of addressing his concerns, the officers made Goldstein sit on a chair and gave him clothes and shoes, before taking him to the Trenton police headquarters.

Goldstein kept complaining to the officers about the handcuffs even when he was placed in a holding cell and repeatedly asked them to loosen it, the suit alleges.

When the police supervisor arrived to “verify the identity of the arrested individual,” he immediately told the officers they had the wrong man and that “that Goldstein was innocent.”

Despite that, the officers made no attempt to remove the handcuffs from Goldstein and drove him back home. They removed the handcuffs only after Goldstein was inside the house, the lawsuit alleges.

One of the officers then tried to explain that the arrest was a mistake, the suit said. Officers also “asked for Goldstein’s phone and placed his contact information in the phone,” according to the court document.

A doctor who examined Goldstein determined the handcuffs caused a fracture, which resulted in “nerve damage, continued pain, and permanent injury,” the suit said.

“City of Trenton police officers have a long and documented history of aggressive police practices, including unnecessary deployment of use of force, false arrests, falsifying official police reports, cover-ups, racial profiling, and sham internal-affairs investigations, all of which demonstrate a systemic absence of adequate training, supervision, credible internal-affairs investigation, and discipline,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also alleges that the City of Trenton failed to “effectively investigate” the officers who arrested Goldstein. It also accused the law enforcement agencies of being negligent and reckless.

“The actions and inactions committed by task force conspirators deprived Goldstein of equal protection under the law and the right to be free from unlawful search and seizures," the suit said.

The lawyers for Goldstein and Duette said that Trenton police have refused to respond to their OPRA request for use-of-force reports, body camera videos, 911 calls and other documents.

In response to the OPRA request, Trenton police told the lawyers they were “unable to locate any body cam footage" and deferred to the U.S. Marshals and state police as it was a joint task force.

Trenton City and the police department did not respond to Patch’s request for comment. State police said it would not comment on pending litigation.

Goldstein is seeking damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earnings, realized and future medical expenses, and violations of federal and state constitutional rights. Duette is seeking damages for violations of federal and state constitutional rights.

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