A Little Silver police officer has been charged with hitting a handcuffed suspect and trying to get a witness to the incident to lie to investigators, authorities said today.
Patrolman Steven Solari, an 11-year veteran of the department, was charged Thursday with two counts of official misconduct and one count each of aggravated assault, tampering with a witness, obstruction of justice and hindering his own apprehension, Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin said.
Valentin said Solari, 36, is accused of hitting a suspect several times at police headquarters on Dec. 20 while the man had his hands cuffed behind his back.
Solari and another Little Silver police officer arrested the man after responding to a call at an undisclosed private residence. During the call, Valentin said, Solari and the man got into a struggle. The man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
At headquarters, Solari allegedly struck the handcuffed man several times, causing his head to hit a metal filing cabinet. The man, whose identity was not released, was treated at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, the prosecutor said.
Two days after the alleged incident, Soliar, dressed in his full uniform and on duty, approached one of the witnesses to the attack in an attempt to convince the witness to lie or withhold the truth from investigators, Valentin said. He would not say whether the witness was another police officer.
Solari is suspended without pay. He was released from the Monmouth County jail in Freehold today after posting $81,000 bail.
If convicted of the most serious charges, Solari could face up to 20 years in prison and would be permanently barred from holding any public job in New Jersey.
No comments:
Post a Comment