NEWARK — Bloomfield officials have transferred a lawsuit to federal court in regard to allegations township police used excessive force in wrongfully arresting a man in 2012 and then conspired to cover up the officers' misconduct.

The transfer comes as two of the officers involved in the case -- Sean Courter and Orlando Trinidad – seek to dismiss the pending criminal charges against them.

Calling his June 2012 arrest an act of "racial profiling," Marcus Jeter, who is African-American, filed the lawsuit in June in New Jersey Superior Court against the township and 10 police officers at the time of the incident, including Courter and Trinidad.

On Aug. 27, a law firm representing the township, former Police Chief Chris Goul and Capt. Glenn Wiegand, had the case transferred to federal court, according to court documents.

In transferring the case, those defendants asserted that Jeter was making allegations related to federal law, court papers say.

“You make those decisions based upon what you perceive to be the best interests of your clients,” said Alan Baratz, an attorney representing those defendants. “In the federal courts…you’re getting district judges who have much more experience handling cases brought under federal statutes.”

The lawsuit states the arrest occurred after Courter and township police officer Albert Sutterlin had responded to a domestic-related call at Jeter’s township home on June 7, 2012.

After speaking with Courter, Jeter left in his vehicle and headed southbound on the Garden State Parkway, the lawsuit states. Soon after, Jeter noticed flashing lights and two police cruisers behind him, the lawsuit states. Believing he was being pulled over, Jeter says he brought the vehicle to a complete stop.

Courter and Sutterlin then ran toward Jeter’s car with their guns drawn, yelling at him to get out of the car, the lawsuit states. Driving another police vehicle, Trinidad crossed over the center median from the northbound lanes and “violently slammed” into Jeter’s car, the lawsuit states.

The three officers then dragged Jeter from his vehicle and assaulted him as he pleaded with them that he was not resisting and had done nothing wrong, the lawsuit states.

Following his arrest, Jeter alleges township police engaged in a “cover up” by creating false reports about the incident and withholding a second police dashboard video, the lawsuit states.

After prosecutors reviewed that dashboard video, resisting arrest and other charges against Jeter were dropped, and Courter and Trinidad were indicted on charges of official misconduct, conspiracy, tampering with records, and false swearing. Trinidad also is facing an aggravated assault charge.

Courter and Trinidad have been suspended without pay, their attorneys said.

Attorneys for both officers have maintained that their clients acted appropriately. Courter and Trinidad are pursuing a motion to dismiss the indictment or suppress certain evidence from being used at their trial. They are due back in court on Oct. 14.

Sutterlin, who retired last year, pleaded guilty in October to tampering with records. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26.

Baratz, the attorney representing Bloomfield, Goul and Wiegand, rejected the allegation that township police participated in a “cover up.” “Nobody in authority at Bloomfield Police Department covered anything up,” Baratz said.

Bloomfield police has no history of racially-motivated abuse or excessive force, Baratz added.

“It’s not the wild wild west,” he said. “It’s a professional department…in a township that doesn’t have that type of history.”

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.