RAHWAY, NJ — On Sept. 16, 2024, the city of Rahway agreed to settle a lawsuit for $150,000 with a local man who alleged police brutality, excessive force and wrongful arrest.
In his lawsuit, Junior A. Abreu claimed that on April 24, 2014, Rahway police officers entered his home without justification, punched and kicked him repeatedly in the head, face and groin, choked him with his own hooded sweater and forced the toe of their boots into his exposed buttocks while his sweatpants were pulled down. Abreu said this attack took place in front of his wife, stepdaughter and stepson.
The lawsuit, filed in 2016, named Rahway Police Detective Sgt. Richard Long, Detective Shawn Ganley, Detective Thomas McComb and Officers Gresham and Mezey – no first names were provided for the latter two officers – as defendants. The complaint accused them of excessive force, wrongful arrest and violations of Abreu’s constitutional rights.
Detectives Ganley and Long filed three criminal complaints against Abreu, charging him with possession of a syringe, possession of “a half-full 10ml multiple dose vial of” testosterone enanthate, aggravated assault against a police officer, resisting arrest by using force and refusing to comply with officers’ orders. According to the complaints, officers were executing a search warrant at Abreu’s residence when they discovered the syringe and testosterone in a TV console drawer in the basement.
Abreu pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, 2017, to a third-degree charge of CDS/Analog possession and Superior Court Judge Lisa Walsh sentenced him on March 28, 2017, to two years of probation and payment of $1,207 in fines and assessments. He spent five days in custody, following his arrest.
On Feb. 28, 2017, a new complaint was filed against Abreu, which downgraded some of the original charges to disorderly persons offenses. That case was later resolved in Plainfield Municipal Court, where Abreu pleaded guilty to a “noise disturbance” offense, according to Rahway’s municipal code, and paid $288 in fines and costs.
After years of litigation, the city of Rahway and its police department reached a settlement agreement with Abreu, awarding him $150,000 to resolve all claims. The city did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability, and the individually named officers were designated as “non-settling defendants.”
The lawsuit, titled Junior A. Abreu et al. v. Rahway Police Department et al., Federal Case No. 2:16-cv-04894, was filed by the Law Offices of Ramon A. Camejo of Elizabeth, New Jersey. The case documents, including the lawsuit and settlement agreement, are available for public download in a tabbed, searchable PDF file.
None of the allegations were proven or disproven in court. The settlement agreement explicitly says the city of Rahway “expressly denies that they or any of their officers or employees committed any wrongdoing” and that “the settlement provided for herein is not an admission of liability.”