3 Former, Current Ewing Township Police Officers Charged With Violating Civil Rights Of A Minor
EWING TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- Three current and former Ewing Township Police Department officers were indicted by a grand jury for their roles in assaulting a minor during an arrest in 2018, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Hong announced on Tuesday. Michael Delahanty, Matthew Przemieniecki and Justin Ubry were charged in a two-count indictment with deprivation of rights under color of law.
Delahanty, who's now retired, and Przemieniecki were charged with a felony offense for deprivation rights for causing bodily injury, according to a release. Ubry was charged with a misdemeanor offense of deprivation of rights under color of law. The three surrendered themselves early Tuesday morning.
The felony civil rights charges against Delahanty and Przemieniecki carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, while Ubry's misdemeanor civil rights charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison along with a maximum $100,000 fine.
In January 2018, more than a dozen police officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in Ewing Township. When officers located the vehicle, which had crashed, they saw the driver running from the scene, according to a release.
The officers later found the minor in a detached shed on residential property. After that, the officers removed him from the shed and laid him face down in the snow as they handcuffed him.
While he was being handcuffed, Delahanty used his boot to step on the back of the minor's head, pressing his face into the snow, according to the release. Przemieniecki and Ubry then kicked snow in the minor's face. Przemieniecki also used his boot to step on the victim's head and drive it into the snow.
The release says that the victim did not resist law enforcement at any time on the ground and that the actions committed by the three officers were unreasonable, excessive and violated the minor's constitutional rights.
Honig credited special agents of the FBI Trenton Resident Agency, which was under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation that led up to the charges.
