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Bayonne Police Officer Domenico Lillo marching in Bayonne's Columbus Day Parade with the Bayonne Police Pipes & Drums on Oct. 11, 2009. Michael T. Dempsey | The Jersey Journal

BAYONNE – The FBI arrested a Bayonne police officer at his home this morning in connection to an alleged case of police brutality against a resident, a city official confirmed this afternoon.

The FBI arrested Domenico Lillo, one of the defendants in a federal lawsuit filed last November by Brandon Walsh, 26, and Walsh's family, the city official said.

On Dec. 27, 2013, Lillo and two other police officers "stormed into" Walsh's home on Avenue C and pepper-sprayed him and his mother, according to the lawsuit.

Bayonne police said the officers were there to arrest Walsh on an outstanding warrant, and that Walsh refused to step outside of his home. Police also said Walsh pushed one of them back, and tried to force the door closed.

According to police, officers were able to grab onto the front of Walsh's shirt to keep him from closing the door, at which point he repeatedly struck one of the officers on the side of the face and on top of the head.

After arresting Walsh, officers took him to a police car.

According to the lawsuit, before putting Walsh in the car, Lillo retrieved a "flashlight or other blunt instrument" from his police duty belt and struck him in the face "numerous times" with the object, causing "permanent injury and disfigurement."

While Walsh, who was still in handcuffs, was struck repeatedly in the face, the other two officers "stood by and did nothing," the lawsuit stated.

Walsh suffered permanent scarring and lost almost all of his front teeth as a result of being hit in the face, according to the lawsuit.

The FBI did not immediately respond for comment regarding Lillo's arrest and the formal charges filed against him.

Lillo was one of a handful of Bayonne police officers named in a police brutality lawsuit that resulted in a $100,000 settlement for the two men who brought the lawsuit, The Jersey Journal reported in 2011.

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.