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Spencer Finch, 45, of Mahwah filed an official report maintaining that he needed to use force against what he claimed was a combative suspect, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.
The video from a fellow officer’s bodycam tells a different story, Valdes added.
Finch – who was with the department for nearly 18 years -- is charged with aggravated assault, official misconduct, perjury, tampering with public records and weapons offenses.
According to the indictment returned by a grand jury in Paterson:
Finch reportedly told the suspect that he was under arrest for making terroristic threats and ordered him to put his hands behind his back during a May 26, 2021 call.
The suspect then “took an aggressive stance and clenched his fist,” then struggled with him for “several minutes” before being subdued, Finch reported.
Once handcuffed and seated with his back against the wall, the victim tried to head-butt him, the officer added.
Then there's the body camera video.
The victim was agitated -- pacing and screaming into a cellphone -- when the officers entered the apartment hallway that night, Valdes said it shows.
He kept his distance from the officers, however, the indictment says.
Finch, in full uniform, “advanced on the victim,” Valdes said the indictment alleges.
“The defendant did not tell the victim he was under arrest nor did he tell him to put his hands behind his back,” she added.
Finch then “struck the victim with an overhead, open palmed strike to the face,” Valdes said. “Following a struggle, the victim is brought to the ground, approximately twenty seconds later."
Finch then “struck the victim multiple times in the head with a flashlight,” she said.
The flashlight was the “C” or “D” cell type that has been prohibited for use by the department, Valdes noted.
The victim was handcuffed behind his back against the wall when Finch "kneed [him] in the face or chest without justification.”
Finch then filed a bogus report about it, she said.
An arraignment on the indictment has yet to be scheduled in Superior Court in Paterson.
Finch was initially sent to the Bergen County Jail following his arrest in June 2021. A judge ordered his release five days later.
He has since remained free with conditions.
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