Second lawsuit filed against cop for excessive force
TRENTON >> The man who got decked in the face by fired Trenton cop Anthony Villanueva is punching back.
Chanzie Washington, of Trenton, was captured on body camera footage taking a Villanueva haymaker to the face during his April 2017 arrest in the city of Trenton.
Now he’s suing Villanueva – who is under FBI investigation for repeated instances of alleged use of excessive force – and other cops who allegedly brutalized him after he appeared to put his arms up in surrender following a wild foot chase through the city.
Also named in the lawsuit are ex-Trenton Police director Ernest Parrey Jr., and Trenton cops Drew Inman and Mark Kieffer III, the sons of prominent local cops Trenton Police Capt. Mark Kieffer and Hamilton cop Daniel Inman.
Villanueva, Drew Inman and Mark Kieffer III are accused of launching into an “unprovoked physical attack” on Washington, who didn’t attempt to fight back, according to the lawsuit claiming Washington suffered permanent injuries from the beatdown.
After the arrest, the younger Inman was caught on body cam bragging about “beating the living s***” out of Washington.
The lawsuit says Trenton Police ignored a “pattern of unreasonable force” by some of its police officers.
Villanueva filed 14 use-offorce reports in a two-year period, much higher than the statewide average of 4.1 use-of-force reports per officer over a five-year period, according to NJ.com’s reporting on statewide useof-force records.
“The City of Trenton and Defendant Ernest Parrey have allowed and continue to allow incidents such as this to occur unchecked,” the lawsuits states. “The acts and omissions of the City of Trenton and Defendant Ernest Parrey … were intentional, wanton, malicious, oppressive, reckless and/or negligent.”
This is the second man in recent weeks to sue Villanueva over allegations of excessive force.
Salaam Felton, now of St. Charles, Missouri, also claimed he was beaten to a pulp when Villanueva ran him down, tackling him from behind and punching him in the head twice in March 2017.
Both the men are represented by attorneys Clifford Bidlingmaier III and Robin Lord.
Villanueva was suspended and fired by the department last year. His attorney has said his client is being made into the “fall guy” as Villanueva fights to get his job back while the FBI investigation moves forward with no indication of when it may conclude.
So far, no charges have been announced against Villanueva, who was shown on body camera decking a muddied and wet Washington in the face after he appeared to surrender to cops, putting his hands in the air from behind a chained-link fence.
Villanueva was pulled off the streets and assigned to TPD lockup following the altercation with Washington.
But that didn’t keep him out of trouble.
While assigned there, Villanueva was involved in a scuffle with Quaree Singletary and ended up macing him in the face inside a cell in the lockup area. Singletary told The Trentonian he was interviewed by FBI special agents about his experience with Villanueva.
Singletary is also represented by Lord but hasn’t yet filed suit, according to a search of state court records.