BAYONNE, N.J. — A man involved in a brawl with off-duty cops at a downtown Bayonne bar last October says he’s also be suing the city - for $500,000.
On Jan. 11, Jersey City attorney Donald L. Gardner put Bayonne on notice that he intends to file a lawsuit against the city, the Police Department, and individual officers on behalf of his client, Shyrief Borders, 24, of Woodlawn Avenue, Jersey City, one of four men charged with fighting at The Rock, Broadway and Silver Street, early on Oct. 11.
Gardner alleged that Officers Roman Popowski, Steven Rhodes, Joseph Era, James Wade and Charles Restivo “recklessly, negligently and in violation of departmental protocol, assaulted and falsely arrested my client.”
Gardner said he would demand payment of “not less than $500,000 as compensation for both current and as yet to be determined injuries . . .”
The city Police Department is conducting an internal affairs investigation into complaints alleging police brutality and false arrest.
Brian J. Blackshaw, 28, of Morganville; Dana Lippi Jr., 27, of Middletown; and Kacper Rozycki, 28, of East 43rd Street, Bayonne, have hired Newark attorneys Eric Pennington and Alan Bowman to represent them in litigation.
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