The man who says he was beaten, shoved and dragged by Elizabeth police while handcuffed has filed a lawsuit against the city and multiple police officers, alleging the department’s use of excessive force rarely results in discipline, creating a breeding ground for a systemic pattern of intimidating residents and violating their constitutional rights.

The suit was filed by Raul Tornes in U.S. District Court in Newark on Friday, nearly two years after he was beaten, spit on and called homophobic slurs during questioning at the Elizabeth Police Department’s headquarters.

Tornes is seeking for the police department of the state’s fourth largest city to reform its policies and practices, including to discipline officers who violate constitutional rights, which the 27-year-old claims happened to him.

The federal lawsuit argues that “a systemic and pervasive pattern and practice of unlawful stops and arrests, as well as excessive force and wrongful and unreasonably forceful arrests” exists in the Elizabeth Police Department — a complaint echoed by dozens of residents.

A NJ Advance Media investigation found that although at least 47 complaints have been filed against Elizabeth police officers from 2016 to 2018, internal investigators did not substantiate a single claim of serious wrongdoing by police.

“The Elizabeth Police Officers involved in this matter have betrayed their oath to protect and serve, beginning with an illegal stop, arrest and the filing of baseless charges against my client, which were subsequently dismissed by the State; but, the truly egregious conduct by Officer Shields—repeatedly punching and kneeing an innocent, handcuffed man and then calling him a ‘f-----g f----t’ while the other Officers stood by and did nothing—is indefensible and has no place in our criminal justice system,” said attorney Josh McMahon, who is representing Tornes.

A spokeswoman for the city of Elizabeth did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Tornes was “unlawfully stopped, handcuffed, arrested, and taken into custody” on Sept 29, 2017, and subsequently handcuffed to a bench, the suit states. Several officers attacked him at this time, including Officer Edward Shields and 10 unnamed officers, who took Tornes toward the cellblock area of the headquarters while he screamed for help and yelled: “I am not resisting!"

Still handcuffed, Shields and another officer punched Tornes in the face, kneed his skull and shouted the homophobic slurs at him, the suit says.

Last year, NJ Advance Media released The Force Report, a comprehensive database of police use of force records, which showed how often officers reported using compliance holds, punches, kicks - and deadly force - over a five-year period, from 2012 to 2016.

Shields had 33 use of force incidents during that time. The department’s per-officer average per year was 6.4, and Shields’ average was 6.6.

Police in Elizabeth also reported using force at a rate higher than 90 percent of New Jersey police departments, including those serving larger cities such as Newark, Jersey City and Paterson.

Shields is also referred to in the suit, which cites the NJ Advance Media database, as “one of the most violent, aggressive persons in the entire Elizabeth Police Department.” He’d been with the department for over 10 years at the time, and was suspended without pay for the incident.

He was also indicted on a simple assault charge by a grand jury in August 2018, which remains pending in New Providence Municipal Court.

The incident was video and audio recorded. An edited version of the video was provided to NJ Advance Media by McMahon, who declined to release the unedited video. A records request filed with the department for an unedited version of the video was denied at the time.

The suit also states the department attempted a cover-up, by falsely charging Tornes with several criminal offenses, which were all dismissed by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 13, 2017.

The lawsuit goes on to explain the city and its police department are complicit in systemic issue of police brutality. Those victims are later intimidated through false reports and charges that are eventually dropped, the suit continues.

It contends that investigations in excessive force are whitewashed, officers are rarely punished, and the department has created a place for officers to feel comfortable in committing unlawful activity and use of force by protecting them from discipline and prosecution, even when captured on video or audio, the suit claims.

Tornes, who suffered emotion and physical pain, seeks compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of earnings and other personal injuries, as well a finding that the departments’ policies and practice violate four amendments of the Constitution.

It calls for the department to deploy officers with appropriate supervision, and require an independent monitor to oversee officers’ stops, searches, arrests and uses of force.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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