Daniel J. Kov

@danieljkov

BRIDGETON - A Seabrook woman landed $690,000 in a settlement of a federal lawsuit against Bridgeton and two of its police officers who she claimed used excessive force against her on two separate occasions.

Marella Lawson, 45, was awarded the sum on March 28 — close to three years after the first of two incidents in which she claimed police assaulted her during an arrest.

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The first incident happened on April 20, 2013, when Lawson claimed Bridgeton police officers Shane Sawyers and Robert Robbins came to her home to arrest her on a city court warrant for contempt for violating a no-contact order.

Lawson is diabetic, she said, and asked police at the time if she could finish her meal before heading down to the police station with them.

But Sawyers allegedly said she had eaten enough and did not allow her request, according to Lawson’s initial lawsuit.

Lawson then reached for an orange juice, she said, before Sawyers “grabbed her by the arm and bent it behind her back.”

The woman also said she had another condition: a frozen shoulder injury.

Lawson said that she told Sawyers this during the incident but that Robbins grabbed her right arm and told her he was arresting her for resisting arrest.

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According to her lawsuit, Sawyers then threw her to the ground. Lawson said she begged the officers to stop and asked that they handcuff her from the front rather than the back.

“Instead of cuffing (Lawson), Sawyers punched her in the face and kicked her,” the suit stated. “While on the floor, Robbins held (Lawson) by her legs as Sawyers pulled her hair and banged her head against the floor.”

The alleged abuse continued, with Robbins reportedly macing Lawson in the face, her lawsuit stated.

The police report at the time charged Lawson with one count of resisting arrest and a Bridgeton Joint Municipal Court warrant for contempt. The report stated Lawson paid $2,750 bail.

The commentary in the report stated, “(Lawson) resisted arrest by physically resisting officers’ attempts at arresting her and had to be taken to ground and forced into handcuffs.”

When it was over, Lawson said she suffered injuries to her shoulder and neck, along with “psychological harm.”

She filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court the following year against the city and both Robbins and Sawyers in response to this alleged incident.

The four-count suit charged the pair with excessive force, battery and assault; and charged the city with failure to train its officers.

She sought $100,000 and a jury trial.

But another incident occurred in early 2015 that had Lawson amend her complaint to include harassment charges against Sawyers.

On March 31, 2015, Lawson was involved in a traffic stop by police. Officers — including Sawyers — pulled her over for having a suspended driver’s license.

Lawson had refused to exit her orange Dodge Neon when she saw Sawyers, and requested a New Jersey state trooper to respond to the scene while Sawyers was attempting to get her out of the car, she said in her amended complaint.

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But the traffic stop eventually turned into another violent episode for Lawson as officers were depicted on dashcam footage breaking her car window, pulling her out to the street, pepper-spraying and arresting her.

Lawson was later fined for having a broken tail light and found guilty of the suspended-license charge in Millville Municipal Court. Other charges against her — hindering, obstruction, resisting arrest and more — were dismissed.

"No administrative charges were brought against either officer although training issues were addressed and procedures regarding entry of vehicles in such situations were modified to include on scene supervisor approval unless exigent circumstances exist," Bridgeton Police Chief Michael A. Gaimari told The Daily Journal in an email Wednesday.

Gaimari added that both officers were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a separate Prosecutor’s Office investigation and found that no departmental policies were violated.

Robbins remains on active duty, while Sawyers resigned from the department for personal reasons on Jan. 14, according to the chief.

With the settlement award comes a confidentiality clause that prevents all parties from publicly discussing the matter.

Requests for comment from Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly and Lawson’s Mount Laurel attorney, Gregg L. Zeff have not been returned.

But the settlement states, “Bridgeton has denied and continues to deny any and all liability for the claims (Lawson) has asserted against it in the civil action.”

The suit was one of several police abuse cases brought against Bridgeton and its police force.

Last year, the city awarded $500,000 to a married couple who sued over abuse allegations at the hands of six city officers.

Daniel J. Kov: (856) 563-5262; dkov@thedailyjournal.com