PATERSON — A Paterson police officer at the center of a brutality lawsuit did not mention in his grand jury testimony that several officers beat and kicked two suspects during an arrest in 2011, according to a partial recording of the proceedings obtained yesterday by The Star-Ledger.

Two videos show Alexis Aponte and Miguel Rivera repeatedly being kicked and beaten while they were allegedly handcuffed in September 2011. The video was first made public by The Star-Ledger late Sunday night on NJ.com, the newspaper’s online home.

But Jose Torres, the off-duty cop involved in a bar fight with Aponte and Rivera less than an hour before the video was made, told the grand jury he placed Rivera in a "compliance hold" before arresting him, according to the recording, which the newspaper obtained from a source with knowledge of the case.

Torres also described Aponte’s arrest as a 2-on-1 encounter involving himself, Aponte and another officer.

But the video shows a group of officers surrounding Torres and kicking him repeatedly, then dragging him along the sidewalk. A second video of the arrest, released yesterday, shows an officer throwing Rivera to the ground before several officers kick and stomp him.

"There’s more than a compliance hold. There are multiple kicks after he’s cuffed," said Darren Del Sardo, the attorney for Aponte and Rivera. "It’s a complete, complete fabrication of events. I’m not quite sure where his memory is from those statements."

Aponte and Rivera said they did not resist arrest and claim they were handcuffed before they were beaten, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court in Newark last week.

Paterson police have referred the matter to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, according to a spokesman for acting City Police Chief William Fraher. The officers remain on duty, according to the spokesman, who would not say whether the department was conducting an independent investigation. Calls to the prosecutor’s office were not returned yesterday.

It remains unclear when Paterson police apprised the prosecutor’s office of the matter, and several people yesterday questioned why the incident remained secret as long as it did.

Del Sardo said he made the department aware of the alleged assault nearly 18 months ago, but received no response. He said he gave the police a copy of the video about 10 days ago.

Although he reserved comment on the video until he had time to review it, Paterson Mayor Jeffrey Jones said he was troubled to learn the incident happened almost two years ago.

"The city will be as transparent as it can on all the information," he said. "I’m concerned that this happened in 2011 and we’re just hearing about it."

An attorney with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who described the officers’ behavior as "arguably criminal," said the allegations should have prompted an immediate investigation.

"Even a tort claim notice should have initiated contact with the prosecutor’s office, who would then have to decide if there’s enough out there," said Alexander Shalom, policy counsel for the ACLU. "If that’s true, that represents a breakdown in the internal affairs process."

Miguel Rivera, left, and his attorney, Darren Del Sardo, say he was knocked unconscious by Paterson police during his arrest in 2011 and then beaten while handcuffed. The alleged assault was caught on a security camera, leading to a federal lawsuit.

The grand jury testimony was obtained shortly after Rivera spoke yesterday about his arrest during a news conference at Del Sardo’s office in Woodland Park. The 34-year-old Prospect Park resident said he put his hands up as soon as Torres approached but that the off-duty officer punched him in the face and threw him to the ground. Rivera said he lost consciousness seconds later.

Less than an hour before the alleged assaults, Torres was involved in a dispute with Aponte and Rivera at Augie’s Sports Bar in Paterson. In a police report, Torres said that Rivera threatened his life and that Aponte fired a gun at him. During the grand jury testimony, a Paterson detective said forensic evidence and witness statements indicated Aponte fired at least two shots.

Del Sardo denied that Aponte shot at Torres. Aponte pleaded guilty to a weapons offense and remains incarcerated, and Rivera was given probation for a conspiracy charge.

Rivera said he filed the lawsuit to prevent others from going through a similar, painful experience.

"I just want for this to not happen to anyone else … They shouldn’t have taken it upon themselves to issue justice," he said.

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