A Hackensack man who was formerly in custody at the Bergen County Jail has filed a lawsuit claiming was severely beaten and suffered a collapsed lung for refusing to wear a strait jacket.
Valmir Xhemajli, 34, claims in court papers two sheriff’s officers assaulted him on Oct. 5, 2021, when he refused the wear the jacket, which the suit says was “unnecessary.”
The officers pepper sprayed Xhemajli and struck him in the face, knocking him down, alleges the lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court of Bergen County.
The sheriff’s officers “continuously beat” Xhemalji despite him pleading for them to stop,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims Xhemajli was struck in the back with enough force to collapse a lung.
“(He) was left on the floor bleeding, coughing and unable to breathe for a prolonged period time,” states the suit, noting the alleged attack was captured on security video.
The lawsuit names as defendants the jail, the county and several unnamed jail employees.
The lawsuit does not say why Xhemajli was held at the Bergen County Jail, although jail records show he was admitted on Oct. 5, 2021, for a drug court violation and possession of marijuana or hashish. He was released from the facility on Jan. 18, 2022, jail records show.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said on Monday afternoon the facility was preparing a news release in response to questions about the lawsuit. The release was not immediately available on Tuesday morning.
Xhemajli says in the suit he was taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center, which provides behavioral health care, then transferred to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.
He was held at the Hackensack hospital for several days before being released back to the jail “in significant pain,” the suit states.
“Instead of allowing him to recuperate in the medical bay, they made him stay in a room with a mattress on the floor, which was painful,” the lawsuit says.
The suit claims assault and battery, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, along with violations of Xhemajli’s civil rights under New Jersey law.
The lawsuit is the second Xhemajli has filed against against New Jersey law enforcement in under four years.
In March 2019, Xhemajli sued the Paterson Police Department, the city and several officers, claiming police handcuffed him to a bed in St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and beat him after he argued with a nurse.
The suit alleged he suffered a fractured rib, broken tooth, facial scarring and went into seizures three times due to the beating. The Paterson lawsuit was settled in Xhemajli’s favor for $75,000, according to NorthJersey.com.
As part of the settlement, the police officers and city officials did not admit to wrongdoing, according to the report. Four days after the Paterson case was dismissed, Xhemajli was allegedly beaten at the Bergen County Jail, according to court documents.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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