CAMDEN — A Clayton man’s claim that he was beaten several times by a corrections officer in retaliation for allegedly kicking a police officer was rejected by a jury in federal court on Friday, Feb. 3.
Taharqu Dean’s claims that he was assaulted multiple times while being held in the Gloucester County Jail in December 2011 were rejected by jurors who found no evidence to back up the claims.
According to the civil lawsuit filed by Dean in 2013, he was being arrested for allegedly breaking into a car when he suffered an epileptic seizure. During the episode, Dean allegedly kicked an officer. According to the suit, Dean claimed the officers did not recognize that he was having a seizure, accused him of resisting arrest and he was subsequently denied his anti-seizure medication.
Dean claimed in the suit that while he was in jail he was assaulted in retaliation for the incident several times, including being punched and kicked in the shower room and another beating while officers were dressing Dean in a suicide prevention gown.
Several members of the Deptford Police Department and the county corrections department were named in the suit, including corrections officer Sgt. Jesse Yamada who Dean alleged said “Oh, we’ve been waiting on you. You like to hit on cops, huh?” after Dean was admitted to the jail.
According to the verdict that was filed in court on Monday, the jurors agreed that corrections officer, Sgt. Jesse Yamada, did not assault Dean and they were not convinced that he made that statement.
These decisions come months after the trial was delayed, back in November, after Kwsind Dean, brother of the plaintiff, criticized the makeup of the jury causing an outburst.
The jury that was selected consisted of one African-American woman and the rest, according to a previous report, appeared to be Caucasian, Hispanic or Asian. The plaintiff is black.
According to previous reports, Kwsind yelled “You call this a jury of his peers? Only in America.”
That jury was dismissed and a new one was selected for the most recent trial which lasted three days.
Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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