ATLANTIC CITY - Two city police officers with long histories of internal affairs complaints against them are being sued in federal court for violating the civil rights of two young men at a traffic stop — some of which was caught on video.

The February 2017 incident, during which one of the officers threatened the men after no apparent provocation, is shown in a video recorded by the plaintiffs: Brian Wilson, 22, of Atlantic City, and Antoine Jones, 23, of Pleasantville. Watch video of the Feb. 14, 2017, incident above.

Former Atlantic City Police Officer Andrew Jaques, who retired in 2017 on an unspecified medical disability, "guarantees" that his 90-pound K9 police dog will "rip the f***" out of the men's bodies. On two occasions during the exchange, Jaques also tells the men he will "knock you the f*** out."

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Two other officers, Glenn Abrams Jr. and Robert Nawrocki, are also named in the 2018 lawsuit. Jennifer Bonjean, an attorney for the plaintiffs, alleges the men were stopped, detained, threatened and intrusively searched even though they weren't committing any crimes or violating and traffic laws.

"I'm that f*****g guy, you understand me? So calm the f*** down, you feel me?" Jaques says in the video.

"Yes sir," one of the plaintiffs says in the video.

"You'll go away. Real cool," Jacques says.

"Yes sir," the plaintiff says again.

"You start acting like a f*****g fool, I will drag you out of this f*****g window, understand?"

"Yes sir, yes sir," the plaintiff says again. "I apologize."

"I'm not disrespecting you. You (want to) frog the f*** up? I got no problem. We'll step out and bang. I got no f*****g problem," Jaques says.

"You don't gotta do that. It doesn't have to be like that," one of the plaintiffs says.

"It doesn't have to be like that, so stop making it like that," Jaques said.

The plaintiffs remained "composed" in the face of Jaques' "tirade" that was "clearly designed to provoke the young men into a violent encounter that would not have ended well for them," according to the lawsuit.

Shortly thereafter, the cellphone recording the incident was taken by the officers. Wilson and Jones were ordered out of the car and were subject to an "invasive" search that involved the officers touching their genital areas, according to the lawsuit.

A spokesman for Bonjean's law firm said the case is in the discovery phase and depositions will begin soon.

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Both Abrams and Jaques have long histories of internal affairs complaints with the Atlantic City Police Department. Jaques' misdeeds were featured in a 2018 Asbury Park Press and USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey investigation into police misconduct, Protecting the Shield.

The investigation found that the state's broken internal affairs system has allowed bad cops to keep their jobs and even get promoted, all while cities and towns pay out millions of taxpayer dollars to victims on behalf of these officers.

'Short-fused' and 'volatile'

Jaques, 41, has a history of losing his temper at traffic stops, internal affairs records revealed through court documents show. A federal judge in 2007 wrote that a jury could find that Atlantic City turned a "blind eye" to Jaques, who she said was "short-fused" and "volatile."

Jaques was the subject of at least five internal affairs investigations in an eight-month period in 2001 and 2002, according to federal civil court records. He was accused of abusing his girlfriend, bludgeoning a bicyclist and choking a restrained man unconscious in the 2001 and 2002 period.

He was fired from his position as a police officer in 2006, but later reinstated by the Civil Service Commission, records show. At least one of the internal affairs investigations was handled by his uncle, a sergeant in the department's internal affairs unit, court documents revealed.

The Atlantic City Police Department, despite numerous internal affairs complaints and lawsuits against him, allowed him to become a K9 handler, a position that includes a pay increase, a take-home car, extra days off and being sent to the highest priority calls, according to court records.

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Jaques graduated from the Atlantic County Police Training Center with his K9, Murphy, in May 2013.

In 2017, just before Jaques retired on medical disability, he had a pending disciplinary charge for which he received a "30-day punishment of record." The nature of the charge wasn't disclosed by the city.

In Jaques' separation agreement, the city said it would give a neutral reference to any future employers about his tenure as a police officer. He didn't receive payment for any used time, but the city agreed to support his request for a disability pension.

Tampering with evidence, neglect of duty

In 2009, Abrams was accused of "concealing" a stolen six-week-old puppy taken during a drug raid on a home and tried to rid himself of the "stolen property" by sending it to a kill shelter, according to details from Abrams' internal affairs file, which is normally not a public record but was included as evidence in court documents related to another federal case against him.

The owners of the brindle pit bull puppy, Crystal, filed an internal affairs complaint to get the dog back. In the days after the dog was taken, photos of Crystal with Abrams' girlfriend surfaced on Facebook.

READ: Jury says Altantic City responsible for K9 attack, rogue cop

Abrams told police he received the puppy from another officer with him during the home search, but several officers at the scene reported seeing him holding the puppy and putting it in his police car. When he found out about the investigation, he hid the puppy at his mother's home in Margate, a town just south of Atlantic City, and then brought it to a shelter where it was at risk to be euthanized, according to court records.

Although no criminal charges were brought against him, Abrams was administratively charged with violating the standards of conduct and "tampering or fabricating physical evidence" by concealing the "stolen property" — the puppy. City investigators found that Abrams' conduct "violated the law of the state of New Jersey" and the rules and regulations of the department, and that he had been "untruthful" concerning the health of the puppy and his knowledge about the investigation.

Abrams accepted a 90-day suspension and asked the city to drop the "untruthfulness" finding, and it complied. Documents didn't indicate whether his suspension was paid.

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He was also found guilty of "neglect of duty," another administrative charge, when internal affairs officers found illegal drugs and weapons after searching his police vehicle during the puppy investigation.

Abrams told investigators back then that he had failed to inventory the items, but interviews with individuals who owned the items reported that he and other officers had "stolen" them, according to court records.

Internal affairs matters that could potentially be criminal must be investigated by the county prosecutor's office, according to state attorney general's guidelines. Before Abrams was interviewed by the prosecutor's office about the contraband, he was given immunity from criminal prosecution, records show.

Other internal affairs findings:

In 2012, Abrams was found guilty of "performance of duty," another administrative charge, after just 2,967 of 3,024 paper folds of heroin he recovered from a search warrant made it to a state police lab.

Abrams triggered the department's early warning system in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, but never received additional monitoring, training, supervision or reassignment, records show. An early warning system tracks indicators like use of force reports and internal affairs reports to flag officers when they reach a certain number in a period of time.

Be sure to read "Protecting the Shield," the Asbury Park Press' comprehensive investigation into police misconduct in New Jersey. Stay with app.com for continuous coverage of police and internal affairs issues across the state, and don't forget to subscribe to get the latest info on police issues, crime and breaking news.

Kala Kachmar is a national award-winning reporter covering municipal court reform, police accountability issues, Howell Township and breaking news. She's worked as a government reporter for more than 10 years in Connecticut, Alabama and New Jersey. Contact her: @NewsQuip; 732-643-4061; kkachmar@gannettnj.com