Cumberland County Courthouse.jpg

Cumberland County Courthouse, in Bridgeton, N.J.

(File Photo)

BRIDGETON -- A Philadelphia attorney is suing Cumberland County, alleging that the county has yet to turn over documents and other material from an Open Public Records Act request related to allegations of excessive force against two inmates in the Cumberland County Jail.

Conrad J. Benedetto is representing Rashee Barlow, 27, of Cortland, New York, and Raheem Jacobs, 26, of Bridgeton -- both of whom have claimed two separate incidents of assault and abuse by corrections officers while serving time in the Cumberland County Jail earlier this year.

Benedetto's office filed two civil complaints in Cumberland County Superior Court earlier this month alleging that the county violated the New Jersey Open Public Records Act by not returning material the law firm claims it is entitled to under an OPRA request that the firm submitted on March 11.

According to a news release from Benedetto, his office sought documents as well as videos and audio from the Cumberland County Jail connected to the allegations of excessive force against Jacobs and Barlow.

The alleged assault against Jacobs occurred on Feb. 25 and the alleged assault against Barlow occurred on Jan. 4.

The lawsuits name the county's custodian of records, Omarey Williams.

"I haven't heard from them," Benedetto said. "They haven't discussed anything with me; they haven't contacted me."

However, Cumberland County Solicitor Ted Baker said the county is not able to provide certain material to the law firm because the matter remains under investigation.

He could not explain why any documents or related material that the law firm is entitled to had not been provided yet.

Nevertheless, the county claims it communicated with Benedetto's office by email multiple times between March 27 and April 10 to request additional time.

According to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, a government records custodian is required to respond to a request within seven business days upon receiving the request form.

It is not known whether Williams responded to the request within seven business days from when the OPRA form was received. The county was unable to provide any record indicating a response prior to March 27, according to Baker Wednesday afternoon.

However, Baker emphasized that the county was still in the process of reviewing its files to determine any potential OPRA violation.

"I see no evidence that there was a violation," Baker said. "I am still looking into it ... But I can't rule it out either."

Williams said Wednesday afternoon that he was not sure whether he contacted Benedetto's office within seven business days.

"I can't be sure," he said. "I don't want to tell you something that is not correct."

Benedetto said he would not discuss the details of the two alleged incidents of excessive force until his office has received the material he requested from the county.

Barlow was charged with robbery in March 2009 and Jacobs was charged with assault in May 2005, according to court records.

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Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.