A South Jersey cop who was fired for allegedly using excessive force against a man who ran from a traffic stop is suing his former employer to get his job back. The man he is accused of beating up has also filed a lawsuit.

Eduardo Diaz worked as a Clayton police officer for 13 years before he was fired last month over his treatment of Richard L. Rolle during a March 2018 traffic stop.

Rolle claims he suffered serious injuries in the incident.

Diaz was accused of punching Rolle and “dropping his body weight” onto the man after he had been handcuffed, according to disciplinary charges filed by the borough against the officer.

Rolle was apparently moving around after being handcuffed and Diaz was accused of failing to consider that Rolle may have been trying to move because he was unable to breath due to positional asphyxiation. The officer was accused of “ignoring or failing to hear Mr. Rolle’s pleas that he could not breathe,” according to one of the disciplinary charges.

The borough also alleged that the officer used "unprofessional speech” toward Rolle, by saying “You want to run and fight, this is what the f— you get.”

Another charge referenced a prior incident in which Diaz had been disciplined. “Ptlm. Diaz also failed to realize that it was improper to strike a handcuffed man. Even after a previous incident where he had received discipline and remedial training,” according to the preliminary notice of disciplinary action.

Diaz was found guilty on 17 of 20 disciplinary charges and a hearing officer recommended his termination.

He filed suit in Superior Court on Feb. 18 seeking dismissal of the charges against him or a modification of the “excessive and disproportionate penalty imposed upon him.”

The hearing officer’s findings “were against the weight of the evidence and should be overturned for a lack of evidence,” the suit states.

“Obviously, we want to overturn the finding that he did anything wrong,” said Diaz’s attorney, Timothy J.P. Quinlan. “I would certainly hope that anybody who listens to the audio that the one officer had on his body camera would say that he didn’t do anything wrong.”

The arrest of Diaz could have saved lives, the attorney argued.

“Five minutes in a cornfield a little after midnight trying to arrest someone … If he hadn’t been pulled over, God knows he could have killed someone and here’s Diaz losing his job over it. It’s a disgrace.”

Court records indicate that Rolle’s original charges included disorderly person offenses for illegal possession of Xanax, but those counts were dismissed.

Rolle’s lawsuit, which was also filed in Superior Court, claims he was beaten by two cops in the incident.

Clayton Special Officer James D. Langlois stopped Rolle’s vehicle on March 25, 2018. After Langlois requested Rolle’s license and registration, he requested Diaz report to the scene to assist with the stop.

At some point, Rolle got out of his vehicle and ran into a nearby farm field.

As Diaz arrived on the scene, he drove into the field to pursue Rolle, then chased him on foot, according to Rolle’s suit.

The officers tackled Rolle and “without necessity to arrest him, beat him with their hands, fists and feet all over his body” and continued beating him after he was handcuffed, according to Rolle.

He suffered a fractured vertebrae, rib and orbital bone, his suit states.

Rolle’s attorney, Kenneth D. Aita, said the incident has left his client physically and emotionally traumatized.

“The officers involved brutally beat Mr. Rolle both before and after he was secured in handcuffs,” Aita said. “He is extremely lucky to be alive and not paralyzed.”

Rolle was charged with a number of offenses, Aita said, including aggravated assault on police officers and traffic violations. He entered a plea to obstruction and all assault charges were dismissed. Rolle was sentenced to time in county jail and has since been released.

Diaz was also cited by the borough for failing to turn on his body camera during the encounter. Audio of the incident was captured via Langlois’ camera.

In addition to the officers, Rolle’s suit names the borough, the police department and Clayton Police Chief Andrew Davis as defendants. The suit alleges excessive force, violation of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act and failure to train, supervise and discipline the officers. Rolle seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Borough officials declined to comment on the lawsuits, but issued a statement confirming Diaz was fired.

"The actions of Officer Diaz in no way reflect the professionalism of the Clayton Police Department or its dedicated officers who proudly serve the Borough on a daily basis. The Borough has terminated this officer’s employment.”

Diaz had four recorded uses of force between 2012 and 2016, according to NJ.com’s Force Report, which chronicled statewide police use of force incidents during those years. He used hands and fists in one incident, compliance holds in two others and hands/fists, leg strikes and a compliance hold in the fourth case. The average incidents per officer who used force over that four-year span in New Jersey was 4.1.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the case involving Rolle and declined to charge Diaz with criminal offenses, but referred the matter back to the borough for consideration of administrative charges.

Langlois was placed on administrative leave following the incident and left the department while still on leave. He was not disciplined over the matter.

The lawsuits were first reported by open public records advocate John Paff.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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