Marcus Jeter testified at the trial of Bloomfield Police Officers Sean Courter and Orlando Trinidad, who are accused of official misconduct in connection with Jeter's 2012 arrest
NEWARK -- On the witness stand Thursday in a Newark courtroom, Marcus Jeter raised his hands in the air.
It was the same gesture Jeter claims he made during a 2012 motor vehicle stop on the Garden State Parkway, when Bloomfield police officers approached his car with their guns drawn and ordered him to get out. One officer ultimately broke Jeter's driver's side window and removed him from the vehicle.
The officers have claimed Jeter resisted arrest and tried to disarm one of them, but Jeter denied those allegations. Jeter said his hands were raised the entire time and he didn't get out of the vehicle, because he was afraid of getting shot.
"I had my hands up the whole time," Jeter said. "I was never trying to take anybody's gun."
"I said, 'I'm not getting out of the car. You've got a gun drawn on me. I don't want to get shot,'" he added. "I was afraid."
Jeter offered that testimony during the trial of Bloomfield Police Officers Sean Courter, 35, of Englishtown, and Orlando Trinidad, 34, of Bloomfield, who are facing official misconduct and related charges for allegedly making false statements in police reports about the June 7, 2012 incident.
A third officer involved in the arrest, Albert Sutterlin, who retired in May 2013, pleaded guilty in October 2013 to tampering with records and is awaiting sentencing.
Jeter is slated to continue his testimony on Tuesday.
MORE: N.J. cops go on trial for misconduct charges in dash-cam case
The series of events leading to Jeter's arrest began when Courter and Sutterlin responded to a domestic-related call at Jeter's Bloomfield home. Soon after they arrived, Jeter left the residence and the officers later stopped him on the Parkway.
Trinidad arrived at the scene and struck the front of Jeter's car with his patrol vehicle. After getting approval from his supervisor, Courter ultimately broke the driver's side window and removed Jeter from the vehicle.
The officers claimed in police reports that Jeter had tried to grab Courter's gun and that Jeter had hit Trinidad.
Jeter was ultimately charged with eluding, attempting to disarm a police officer, resisting arrest and aggravated assault.
After prosecutors reviewed the police dashboard video from Trinidad's patrol vehicle, however, they found the video was inconsistent with the officers' police reports. For example, prosecutors claim Courter lied about Jeter trying to disarm him, because the video shows Jeter's hands were raised the entire time.
Based on that video, the charges against Jeter were dropped and Courter and Trinidad were charged with official misconduct, conspiracy, tampering with records, and false swearing. Trinidad also is charged with aggravated assault for striking Jeter during the incident.
(L-R) Attorney Charles Clark, his client Sean Courter along with attorney Frank Arleo, and his client Orlando Trinidad, stand as the jury prepares to enter the courtroom. Courter and Trinidad are Bloomfield cops who are facing official misconduct and related charges in connection with their June 7, 2012 arrest of Marcus Jeter on the Garden State Parkway. Prosecutors allege that a police dashboard video shows Courter and Trinidad lied about the incident in police reports. Newark, NJ 10/15/15 (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) At the trial, the officers' attorneys have attacked Jeter's credibility, noting how he is pursuing a lawsuit against the three officers and other defendants.
The attorneys have argued Jeter was drunk and that he fled the residence after Courter ordered him to stop. They also said the officers believed Jeter was trying to grab Courter's gun and pointed out how the video shows Jeter lowered his hands at some point.
But during his testimony, Jeter, 31, offered a different account of how the night unfolded.
Jeter claimed he had two beers earlier in the evening at a club and returned home, where he and his girlfriend got into a verbal argument. Her sister called 911 after Jeter threw his girlfriend's cell phone down a staircase.
As Jeter was later driving down the driveway, he said he stopped his vehicle to speak with Courter, and Jeter suggested Courter then indicated he could leave.
According to Jeter, Courter asked Jeter if he was OK and Jeter said he was OK, Jeter said. Courter ultimately turned away and Jeter drove off, Jeter said. The officers did not attempt to flag him down, Jeter said.
A few minutes later, the officers stopped him on Parkway, Jeter said. Jeter said he was preparing to hand over his license and registration when he realized Courter was pointing a gun at him. Sutterlin was pointing a shotgun at him, Jeter said.
Courter yelled at him to exit the vehicle, but Jeter said he did not get out, because "I didn't want to get shot."
"I was just afraid...I'd never been in that situation before," Jeter said. "I said, 'I'm not moving till you call my lawyer.'" Asked why he mentioned his lawyer, Jeter said: "I don't know...I was in so much shock."
As he sat in the car with his hands raised, Jeter said Trinidad's patrol vehicle struck the front of his vehicle. Courter then smashed the driver's side window and "glass flies in my face," Jeter said.
After Courter unlocked the door and opened it, he punched Jeter in the face and, as he tried to take off Jeter's seatbelt, he elbowed him in the jaw, according to Jeter.
"He says, 'Stop trying to take my gun,'" Jeter recalled, referring to Courter. "I'm like, 'I'm not trying to take your gun.'"
Courter kept yelling at Jeter to stop resisting arrest and stop trying to take his gun, but Jeter told him he wasn't resisting and he wasn't trying to grab his gun, according to Jeter. "I never resisted," he said.
After Courter removed Jeter from the vehicle and slammed him face down on the ground, Jeter claimed the officers struck him in the back in the head. Jeter said he never struck one of the officers.
"I said, 'I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong,'" Jeter said. "They were saying, 'Shut up. Shut up.'"
Jeter said he was already in handcuffs and being escorted to a police vehicle when he was struck in the back of the head again.
According to Jeter, he later received medical treatment for a laceration on his ear, a sprained wrist, and bruising on various parts of his body.
"I was banged up," Jeter said. "I was bleeding all over the place."
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.