By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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MAPLEWOOD — About two-and-a-half minutes of video footage and a smattering of police radio recordings have led to two forced retirements, a $280,000 payout, the impending overhaul of a small New Jersey police department, and a federal lawsuit — all while the investigation of what actually happened when police responded to a group of allegedly rowdy teens after a town-wide fireworks show in Maplewood last Fourth of July weekend, is still ongoing.

In dash cam footage of the police response to the July 5, 2016 incident, officers could be seen kicking and punching teenagers leaving the event, and radio transmissions apparently direct officers to move the teens over the border from Maplewood into neighboring Irvington.

Residents alleged the police used excessive force that night, and racially discriminated against the teens, assuming, because many were black, they were from Irvington, a town with a significantly higher African-American population.

The fallout from the incident, and those allegations, is continuing.

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Police chief pushed out

Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca last week announced the details of an agreement reached with Police Chief Robert Cimino, who was suspended after the videos were released. The settlement, DeLuca said, will see Cimino out of the department, but with a nearly $280,000 payout.

According to DeLuca, Cimino will remain on paid administrative leave until Dec. 31, and retire as of Jan. 1. The township will pay Cimino $49,479.85 in unused sick, vacation, and personal days, and $115,000 in both 2018 and 2019. It’ll also pay out $15,000 to Cimino’s attorney.

The chief will also get a letter from the town saying he served the police department with “dedication and professionalism” for 36 years, and another acknowledging he never had any formal disciplinary action taken against him during his tenure as chief.

In exchange, the chief agreed to never sue the town.

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Police Chief Robert Cimino.

In his release about the agreement, DeLuca noted a prior Essex County Prosecutor’s investigation into the incident that did not find enough evidence to charge Cimino or any of the other officers involved. An internal town investigation of the incident is still ongoing.

“Faced with the prospects of extended and costly administrative and legal proceedings regarding this matter and a legal assessment which concluded there would be little likelihood of success in such proceedings, the township committee has reluctantly deemed it to be in the best interest of the township to enter into this settlement,” the statement read.

“The settlement will successfully achieve the township committee’s overriding goal of not having Mr. Cimino return to his post as chief of the Maplewood Police Department.”

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Maplewood residents march against police brutality outside an August meeting where they called for the firing of Police Chief Robert Cimino. (Luke Nozicka | NJ Advance Media)

In a statement to NJ Advance Media, Cimino’s attorney, Jeffrey Garrigan confirmed the details of the settlement noting that Cimino, “…has never been charged with, let alone found guilty of, any violation of law, rule, or regulation…This is because Chief Cimino has violated no laws, rules, or regulations, despite insinuation otherwise.”

“Chief Cimino is a highly respected law enforcement professional who successfully implemented effective programs of crime control, community policing, and technological advancement. He is proud of his successful efforts to broaden the diversity of the Maplewood Police Department. Chief Cimino is the recipient of numerous awards and acknowledgements for his professionalism and service.”

In the statement, he also thanks citizens, colleagues, family, and friends for their support “throughout his career and during recent events.”

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(Information from the U.S. Census)

The township committee is set to vote on the agreement at its Tuesday meeting.

According to a TapInto report, Captain Joshua Cummis, who was also suspended after the release of the videos, reached an agreement with the town last month to retire from the department, as well, with a $37,000 payout of compensatory time and vacation credits.

Six other officers have been disciplined by the Maplewood Police Department in connection with the incident, as an internal affairs investigation into the police response continues.

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The lawsuit

On Sept. 8, now 17-year-old Jason McDougal’s mother, Cynthia, filed a $1.5 million lawsuit on her son’s behalf against the township, Cimino, Cummis, and several other Maplewood police officers. According to the suit, which was filed in federal court, the boy, who is African American and was raised in Maplewood, was walking home after the fireworks display, and was allegedly stopped by officers from walking in the direction of his home, and moved toward Irvington.

When McDougal did not follow officers’ walking orders, he claims one called him the n-word, and yelled at him to get on the sidewalk. When a commotion broke out nearby, McDougal claims both he and the officers ran toward it to see what was happening. Though McDougal says he was not involved in the commotion, he claims he was surrounded by at least eight officers, punched, kicked, and pepper sprayed.

The suit alleges officers continued to curse at and mock McDougal as they picked him up and continued to follow him. Officers also refused, the suit claims, to allow him to wash out the pepper spray.

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An excerpt from McDougal's lawsuit, in which he is referred to as "J.M.," because he is a minor.

While walking, McDougal said he was attempting to spit out the pepper spray in his mouth when his spit landed on a police officer. This, he said, prompted another group of officers to slam him to the ground, punch and kick him, and hurl racial epithets at him.

McDougal was arrested, and alleges police created false reports of his spitting on officers, which he claims were an effort to cover up their conduct during the incident. McDougal alleges the officers’ actions, specifically the attempt to move the mostly black group of kids out of Maplewood, were racially-motivated.

“It was traumatic for him,” McDougal’s attorney, Robert Tarver, said in an interview about the suit.

“There was very clearly a racist goal here. … Maplewood views itself as a very progressive town, but things like this rear their ugly heads,” he said. “It’s systemic.”

Maplewood’s township attorney did not reply to a request for comment on the suit.

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Retooling the department

In the wake of community fury over the incident, the township committee hired an outside company, Hillard Heinze, to analyze the police response.

The company's study concluded the department could overcome the incident and “move forward to improve its relationship with the community,” but it did make a dozen recommendations about how officers could have handled the incident differently, and changes the department should employ to avoid something similar happening in the future.

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A map from the Hillard and Heintze report showing the route police officers guided teens on after the fireworks display. The report questioned why supervisors sent the teens on that route, in a large group, rather than have them disperse.

The report found officers were right to respond to the scene, but said what “…initially began as an apparent crowd control tactic to disperse young people…quickly expanded into a prolonged and counterproductive effort to prevent the youth from dispersing by themselves, forcing them instead on a 1.3-mile walk to the far eastern border of the township.”

The report also found Cimino gave the marching orders that night, and no other officer questioned them. It recommends changes to officers’ training on crowd control, and additional training for supervisors. It also recommends moves to improve the relationship with the community.

DeLuca said a national search for Cimino’s replacement will begin after the town’s agreement with the chief is approved.

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Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.