Man cites 'excessive force' in suit against officer

A television news cameraman has filed a federal lawsuit against a Newark special police officer who allegedly put him in a choke hold and then arrested him last year while he was filming an anti-violence demonstration.

The journalist, James Quodomine, was standing on a sidewalk covering the protest when the officer, Brian Sharif, ordered him to put away his camera, according to the 17-count suit filed in U.S. District Court in Newark. When Quodomine refused, the officer yanked away the camera, wrapped his arm around the journalist's neck and put him in handcuffs, according to the suit.

"I can do whatever I want," Sharif said as bystanders and other journalists tried to intervene, according to the suit.

The arrest, captured on film, drew quick criticism from city leaders, including Mayor Cory Booker and City Council President Mildred Crump. Sharif was suspended within days.

Nonetheless, the city issued Quodomine a disorderly persons summons. His suit alleges lawyers for the city offered to dismiss the summons if Quodomine agreed not to file a lawsuit. He refused, and the charge was eventually dropped by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Quodomine's suit, filed Oct. 22, accuses Sharif and the city of unreasonable seizure, excessive force and malicious prosecution, among other allegations. It requests unspecified damages.

"It was an egregious act that was committed against me for no reason. It was a violation of my civil rights and my First Amendment rights," Quodomine said in an interview yesterday.

Newark's corporation counsel, Julien X. Neals, declined to comment, saying he had not read the suit. Attempts to reach Sharif were unsuccessful.

Quodomine, 57, lives in Warren County and began his career as a radio reporter in 1970. He switched to television several years later and was on assignment for Channel 2 News when he was arrested at the demonstration on Springfield Avenue.

Sharif is a 13-year veteran of the special police, whose officers are trained by the Newark police but work under a separate command structure. They provide security for schools and are available for hire by private groups. On the day of Quodomine's arrest, Sharif was working for the church that organized the demonstration, Booker said last year.

Sharif has sparked controversy before. In 2007, he made news after giving a 75-year-old woman four tickets -- including one for careless driving -- after she pulled out of a funeral home and accidentally went the wrong way down a one-way street.

Joe Ryan may be reached at (973) 622-3405 or jryan@starledger.com.