- Grand Jury Clears NJ Cop of Brutality Allegations -
ofr...@hotmail.com
Date: Oct 06 2000 06:25:19 EDT
From: "ofr...@hotmail.com" <ofr...@hotmail.com>
Subject:
- Grand Jury Clears NJ Cop of Brutality Allegations -
Sergeant in Passaic Cleared by Grand Jury Charges of Brutality Had
Upset Minorities
October 05, 2000
The Record, Northern New Jersey
JOSH GOHLKE, Staff Writer
A grand jury has cleared Passaic police Sgt. William Paranto of
brutality allegations that have inflamed the
city's minority community and dominated Passaic politics for much of
the
year.
Grand jurors concluded hearings Tuesday without handing up an
indictment
of Paranto or three other
narcotics detectives who had been involved in the Jan. 4 arrest of drug
suspect Pernell Brooks, Passaic
County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John A. Snowdon said.
"Billy Paranto deserves an apology from all the activists who protested
and yelled and screamed before all the
facts were heard," said his lawyer, Charles J. Sciarra. "But I don't
expect them to have the courage to
apologize, so we're going to sue them all instead."
Sciarra has filed notice with the city that Paranto plans to sue for
malicious prosecution and denial of his civil
rights. Paranto is white and Brooks is African-American.
Paranto's accusers expressed disappointment but not surprise with the
grand jury's decision.
"As far as I'm concerned, there's no justice in America," said Dallas
Brooks, Pernell Brooks uncle.
Brooks fell into a coma shortly after his arrest on one of the city's
most notorious corners, Myrtle Avenue and
Monroe Street, with what some witnesses and relatives maintained were
injuries inflicted in a savage beating.
The grand jury, however, found nothing to support the claim, Snowdon
said.
Paranto's fellow officers have said Brooks lost consciousness because
he
swallowed drugs in an attempt to
hide them, and the testimony of a triage nurse, an emergency room
doctor, and Brooks attending physician
backed their story, the prosecutor said. In fact, the nurse checked the
37-year-old's body for any injuries, as
is routine, and found none, Snowdon said.
"Not a bruise, not a scratch, nothing," Snowdon said hours after the
last of three grand jury hearings on the
case ended.
According to hospital accounts and medical records presented to the
grand jury, Brooks walked into an
ambulance "conscious and lucid," the prosecutor added. It was not until
about 15 minutes after his arrest that
he began to go into seizures and doctors took steps to stop them,
Snowdon said.
"Probably the most important piece of information to come out of this
whole case is that the E.R. doctor
actually induced the coma," he said.
Hospital reports also showed an extremely high level of cocaine in
Brooks urine and no evidence of internal
injuries, Snowdon said.
The grand jury also heard from seven reported witnesses and the four
officers on the scene: Paranto,
Detective Sgt. Charles Castronovo, Detective Juan Clavijo, and
Detective
Ruben Pagan. Though Paranto has
been the focus of public ire in the case, Snowdon said the proceedings
regarded him as no different from the
others, except that he was the ranking officer.
Pagan's lawyer, Joseph Rotella, said his client had been confident he
would be exonerated despite the
continuing outcry.
"My client feels that such things make it more difficult for him and
other police officers to do their jobs,"
Rotella said. "He's relieved to have it over with."
Paranto was the only one of the four officers put on leave in the
aftermath of the arrest; he was suspended for
180 days without pay on a departmental charge that he disobeyed an
order
confining him to desk duty and
then skipped a hearing on the matter. A Superior Court judge recently
revoked the suspension of Paranto's
superior, Lt. Howard Simbol, in the same case, finding that Simbol did
not violate the spirit of the order during
a lunchtime stop of a suspect. Paranto's case is still pending.
Anthony DeIntinis, president of the city's police union, said Paranto
should be immediately returned to his job
with restored pay and a clean record.
Police Chief Stanley Jarensky noted that Paranto's suspension is not
directly related to the Brooks arrest.
Although he welcomed the end of the grand jury investigation, he
declined to comment further.
DeIntinis also demanded a public apology from "everyone who wrongly and
unjustly pointed the finger at
William Paranto," including Calvin Merritt, president of the Passaic
chapter of the NAACP, and city schools
trustee Clayton Barker, both vocal critics of Paranto. Barker, whose
connection with Paranto goes back to
two 1999 narcotics bureau raids on a candy store that the trustee
frequented, could not be reached for
comment Tuesday.
Merritt said he was "totally disappointed" but otherwise unmoved by the
grand jury decision. He said it failed
to answer the reports of several witnesses who said Brooks was beaten
by
police.
"What I think has happened is the issue is being clouded, or somewhat
whitewashed," Merritt said Tuesday.
"These people came to me and said, Mr. Merritt, this is what I saw. I
believe what those witnesses said to
me."
Snowdon addressed the discrepancy between public opinion and the grand
jury findings.
"I've seen witnesses be very wrong," he said. "No one ever expects
these
things are going to happen when
they happen. The medical evidence didn't support any beating."
The community's focus on Paranto also was spurred by his "checkered
past," Merritt said. In 1992, Paranto
fired five shots at a car in Pompton Lakes, striking the driver, but he
was cleared after claiming self-defense.
The year before, he lost two days pay after an alleged outburst
prompted
by a suspect's acquittal.
Despite Tuesday's decision, Merritt said, the Passaic Police Department
still must take steps to improve
sensitivity, accountability, and relations with the minority community.
Brooks remains in rehabilitation in Newark, said his uncle. He said his
nephew suffers from permanent brain
damage and has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old.
Brooks lawyer, who did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday, has
filed notice that he intends to sue
the city for police brutality and negligence.
Criticism of Mayor Margie Semler, the city's acting police director
since 1997, continued from both sides
Tuesday, with Brooks supporters calling for new leadership and
Paranto's
backers decrying his suspension.
Sciarra, the sergeant's lawyer, said his innocence "was clear to
everyone but the mayor of Passaic, who
chose to believe the word of convicted drug dealers and thugs over her
own Police Department. The city will
pay the price for the mayor's arrogance."
Semler could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Staff Writer Josh Gohlke's e-mail address is gohlke(at)bergen.com
--
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