$340k settlement reached for Reid's jail abuse suit
BRIDGETON – The estate of Jerame C. Reid is set to receive $340,000 in a lawsuit settlement against Cumberland County, its jail and several employees there, according to lawyers involved in the matter.
Reid, who was fatally shot by two Bridgeton police officers last year, had sued in 2011 over what he said was inmate abuse at the hands of three correctional officers while serving time in Cumberland County Jail in 2009.
A settlement was reached between the county and Reid's estate, according to his attorney Mark B. Frost, of the Philadelphia firm Mark Frost & Associates.
Cumberland County Solicitor Theodore E. Baker confirmed to The Daily Journal the amount was approved by the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders at its regular meeting on May 26.
Frost said he will now file a petition with U.S. District Court in Camden for final approval of the settlement.
Because Reid left behind no will when he died, Frost said money leftover after paying attorney's fees will be left to his wife, Lawanda M. Reid, who is administrator of his estate.
"She will be responsible for making payment to those that are entitled to it," Frost said.
The nine-count federal lawsuit demanded in excess of $100,000 plus interest, cost, attorney's fees and punitive damages. Another demand made in the suit called for a trial by jury, but that never came to play.
"I think the settlement is a fair and reasonable amount," Frost said.
Baker said Reid's Dec. 30 death played a part in reaching the settlement.
"I believe — had he survived — we would have been more likely to try the case," Baker told The Daily Journal. "We thought he was our best witness."
Had Reid testified in court, a jury would have heard firsthand accounts of abuse that he claimed he suffered while in county jail in 2009.
In his lawsuit, he claimed a "brutal beating" at the hands of county correctional officers Victor Bermudez and John Zamot.
John Ballard, another correctional officer, allegedly permitted the abuse during Reid's time in jail.
The three, along with jail warden Robert Balicki, the county and the jail were all named defendants in Reid's civil lawsuit filed Oct. 7, 2011 in U.S. District Court in Camden.
According to the suit, the incident in question started on Oct. 15, 2009, 18 days after Reid was incarcerated in the county jail on charges of resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
On that October day, he alleged in his suit, Ballard unlocked his cell door, allowing Zamont and Benitez inside.
The two then "willfully, maliciously and intentionally punched and kicked (Reid) until he was curled up on the ground," the suit reads.
The abuse continued while Reid was on the ground, he claimed, with kicks and punches to his face and stomach.
Following that, the two officers "sprayed mace in his face and dumped a cold bucket of water" on Reid, he claimed.
Reid was left beaten and bleeding on the floor of his jail cell for two hours until a new shift of officers discovered him, according to the suit.
Fearing retaliation, Reid said he told the jail's nurse that he was beaten by fellow inmates.
He was later taken to Cooper University Hospital for his injuries, which included broken ribs, a fracture of his left orbital bone, loss of sensation and nerve damage in his lips and cheek area, according to the suit.
Reid was fatally shot by Bridgeton police on Dec. 30, 2014 during a routine traffic stop that quickly escalated.
Reid and one of the officers, Braheme L. Days, argued about Reid getting out of the vehicle. Reid was the passenger in the car that night.
Police say a weapon was recovered from the car. Days can be heard on dashboard camera footage yelling, "He's reaching," before opening fire on Reid.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office took up the investigation of the use-of-force incident, reportedly ending their probe in the spring and turning it over to the New Jersey State Attorney General's Office for further review.
The office will eventually determine whether criminal charges will be filed against the two officers involved in the shooting.
In response to Reid's death, his widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in March asking for $1 million in damages from each of the defendants, Days and Officer Roger W. Worley, as well as the City of Bridgeton, former city police chief Mark Ott and Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae.
That civil suit is still ongoing, with the defendants' lawyer — Deborah B. Rosenthal — recently petitioning a judge to bar the two officers from making statements until the criminal investigation is wrapped up.
Daniel J. Kov; (856) 563-5262; dkov@thedailyjournal.com