An Atlantic City police officer, who was arrested by federal authorities for his role in a brutal K-9 attack that left a Linwood man with nearly 200 stitches, is suing the city over not being paid while suspended.

Sterling Wheaten filed the lawsuit in Atlantic County Superior Court on Thursday. During a suspension hearing, the lawsuit says, Chief Henry White stated that Wheaten should be paid while on leave for an indefinite amount of time.

According to the lawsuit, White thought Wheaten should be paid because an Atlantic County grand jury did not bring charges against him. White made his decision because he was familiar with the case and the investigations surrounding it, according to the lawsuit.

Since the chief’s oral decision was made at the October 26, 2018, hearing, the city has “refused to respond with any written decision, result or determination” that differs from White’s, even though they told Wheaten’s attorney, Lou Barbone, they would, according to the lawsuit.

The city did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Wheaten is seeking back pay from October 2018 and to be paid moving forward as he serves the suspension, according to the lawsuit. Wheaten’s annual salary is $84,027, according to state records.

While a county grand jury did not indict Wheaten, a federal one indicted him on charges of violating an individual’s civil rights and one count of falsifying a record for submitting a false police report about the assault.

The assault happened in June 2013 outside of the Tropicana involving 20-year-old David Castellani and a group of Atlantic City police officers. An intoxicated Castellani got into a contentious argument with the officers before being detained.

After Castellani was subdued and had one hand in handcuffs, Wheaten arrived and emerged from his vehicle with his K-9 partner. Wheaten released the dog, and it mauled the back of Castellani’s head, his neck and his chest, as officers, including Wheaten, continued to punch and kick Castellani, according to the lawsuit Castellani filed.

According to the indictment, Wheaten submitted “false and fraudulent police reports,” including that Castellani was “fighting my K-9 partner” and that he had “violently assaulted uniformed law enforcement officer[s] with hands and fists.”

Castellani was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. He eventually had his record cleared after he entered into a pretrial intervention program.

The high-profile case eventually settled for $3 million.

“Sterling Wheaten is a family man who has served his community with pride and honor his entire career. We support him and are confident the facts will see him cleared of these charges,” Patrick Colligan, the president of the New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement after the indictment.

The incident was not the first time Wheaten found himself at the center of a lawsuit. During his tenure, he has been sued numerous times and has been involved lawsuits that have cost the city $4.5 million.

Before being arrested by federal authorities and then suspended, he had never been disciplined by the Atlantic City police department, according to previous reporting by NJ Advance Media.

Wheaten, who accumulated 33 internal affairs complaints — 23 of which were for excessive force or assault — in the first seven years of his career, never had a complaint sustained by internal affairs investigators and was never ordered to any type of remedial training.

During his first year with the department, he had the sixth most use-of-force incidents, and by the second year, he led the department in the category, according to an analysis done by a police expert on behalf of a plaintiff who was suing the city.

When Wheaten applied for one of three open K-9 positions in 2012, he received the prestigious position despite having the highest number of internal affairs complaints against him of the 24 applicants, according to court documents. After the Castellani incident, Wheaten returned to policing Atlantic City with a K-9 dog, White said in a 2016 deposition.

“Since Officer Wheaten has come back to full duty, he’s been nothing but a model employee,” White said.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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