U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty denied the motion of Officers Charles Matos and Roger Harris to dismiss the claims they are to blame for the death of 19-year-old Jason Lowther
NEWARK -- Two Newark police officers have lost their motion to dismiss claims against them in a federal lawsuit over the 2012 suicide of an inmate at the city jail.
In a Nov. 6 decision, U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty denied the motion of Officers Charles Matos and Roger Harris to dismiss the claims they are to blame for the death of 19-year-old Jason Lowther, who hung himself with his shirt on May 5, 2012 in his cell at the city's holding facility on Green Street.
The motion centers on the timing of when the two officers were added as defendants in the lawsuit being pursed by Lowther's estate, which also is suing Newark, the city's police department and other police personnel.
The first complaint in the case was filed in October 2013, falling within the two-year statute of limitations to file the lawsuit. Matos and Harris were not identified by name in that complaint, but instead the complaint referred to "John/Jane Doe Newark Police Officers "A" through "Z."
The court rule governing such fictitious party names allows plaintiffs to later amend a complaint with defendants' true names after their identities become known.
After learning in April 2014 about the potential involvement of Matos and Harris, Lowther's estate sought approval from another judge in September 2014 to amend the complaint to add their names and the name of another defendant, court documents state. The estate ultimately received that approval and filed the amended complaint in December 2014.
In their motion, Matos and Harris argued the claims against them should be dismissed, because they were filed after the applicable statute of limitations had expired.
The officers also claimed the fictitious party rule should not apply, because the estate did not perform due diligence to determine the officers' identities before and after filing the original complaint, court documents state.
But McNulty rejected the officers' arguments, finding that the estate had exercised due diligence and that the allegations against the officers relate back to the date of the original complaint.
The judge noted how the estate obtained arrest and incident reports, and retained a private investigator, but was not able to learn about the two officers' potential involvement in Lowther's suicide until receiving additional evidence from the city in April 2014.
Although the estate did not file a motion to amend the complaint until September 2014, McNulty still found it acted with due diligence.
"True, there was a five-month delay between the discovery and the motion to amend," McNulty wrote in his decision. "Nevertheless, I find that Plaintiffs made a diligent, good faith effort, and I am also mindful that the fictitious party practice rule is to be construed to do substantial justice.
"The five-month gap is not enough to convince me that Plaintiffs did not act with due diligence."
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The amended complaint alleges Matos and Harris were among the officers in charge of supervising Lowther and other inmates at the time of his suicide. The complaint claims Lowther told Matos, Harris and other officers he was having suicidal thoughts and feelings.
The complaint also asserts the officers were aware Lowther had made an earlier attempt to commit suicide while in custody that day, and that they failed to prevent him from making any further attempts.
Lowther had been arrested for marijuana possession and trespassing, according to Gerald Krovatin, the attorney representing Lowther's estate in the lawsuit.
Lowther's death represents one of three suicides at the Green Street jail since 2010.
About 18 months before Lowther's suicide, Tyron Benson, 31, hung himself with his belt on Nov. 25, 2010 in his cell at the facility, court documents state. The mother of Benson's children also is pursuing a lawsuit against the city in regard to his death.
The most recent suicide at the facility occurred in April, when 54-year-old Raymond Hyman hung himself with a piece of his own clothing at the cell block.
Hyman's suicide occurred less than a year after the U.S. Justice Department raised concerns in a July 2014 report that the Green Street facility constituted a significant suicide risk for detainees.
Those findings stemmed from a three-year federal investigation into the Newark Police Department, which also found constitutional violations in pedestrian stops and the use of excessive force.
In regard to the suicide risk at the Green Street jail, federal officials cited the physical layout of the Green Street facility, the lack of training provided to officers assigned there, and a history of officers not following policy for handling suicidal detainees.
The federal report noted how the exposed cross bars in the cells represent "suicide hazards" and there are "only limited lines of sight into the cells."
But Newark officials have said they are taking steps to address suicide risks and other issues at the facility, including by adding closed-circuit televisions to the jail, and assigning more officers there to perform general housekeeping tasks and supervise detainees.
The police department also has provided new training to officers to help recognize potentially suicidal prisoners, and the city has been planning to renovate the jail, officials said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
