Bridgewater reaches secret settlement with Black teen in viral Commons mall arrest

Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com
·4 min read

Almost two years after the incident, a confidential settlement has been reached with one of the teens involved in a fight at the Bridgewater Commons mall that drew international attention after a video showing a police officer tackling him went viral.

Somerset County Superior Court Judge Robert Ballard sealed the settlement on Feb. 1 after a "Friendly Conference" between Bridgewater Township and Ebone and Jihad Husain, parents of the teen.

A Friendly Conference is held to obtain the court's approval of a settlement on behalf of a minor.

However, the other part of the controversy still to be resolved is a conflict between the township and the state Attorney General's Office over a delay in releasing a township report on the police response to the incident.

And that delay has been exacerbated by a court fight between the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and one of the officers involved in the incident over a subpoena for documents in the case.

Bridgewater Commons fight goes viral

Gregg Zeff, attorney for the Husains, filed a four-count lawsuit on Nov. 27 against the township alleging discrimination, failure to properly train, loss of consortium and negligence.

The lawsuit sought a $100,000 judgement against the township, plus interest, costs and attorney fees.

But the settlement remains confidential because of the age of the minor, Z'Kye Husain.

The controversy began on Feb. 12, 2022, when two teens, Z'Kye Husain, then 15, a Black male from Somerville, and Umar Joseph Franco, then, 15, of Colombian and Pakistani heritage, and who was perceived to be white, became involved in a scuffle near Bloomingdale's on the third-story of the mall.

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump (right) hustles Z'Kye Husain away from a news conference outside the Bridgewater Township, NJ, police station that was taken over by another groupl Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Crump claims that Husain was a victim of explicit bias and excessive force when he was slammed to the ground, face first, with a knee put on his back after a fight at the Bridgewater Mall.

The video shows Husain and Franco, then a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, arguing and pointing fingers at each other. That leads to pushing and shoving and after two police officers responded to the scene, one officer forced the Black teen, Husain, to the floor and handcuffed him while the other teen, Franco, was placed on a chair and was not handcuffed.

Both teens were released to their parents and no charges were filed.

The incident was recorded by bystanders and posted to social media. More than 1,000 complaints were received by the Bridgewater Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

In the following weeks, Bridgewater was roiled with protests against the police and an anti-Black Lives Matter banner was hung on a pedestrian bridge over the ramp from Route 22 to Route 202-206, near Bridgewater Commons.

Prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, hired at that time to represent the Black teen, came to the municipal complex to hold a press conference, saying he was considering litigation over the incident.

At that press conference, Husain, then an eighth grader, said, "I don't understand why I got treated differently because of the color of my skin."

"I feel like I shouldn't be lucky that I wasn't hurt or killed by people who promise to protect us," he added. "That's why we are here today to change that – to not be lucky to be treated like animals."

Police disciplinary action

A year ago in February, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin expressed frustration that Bridgewater Township has taken an "an inordinate length of time" to review and release a report into the police officers' actions in the incident.

Platkin said that any further delay in releasing the report "frays the fragile trust between the public and the law enforcement community."

In response Bridgewater Mayor Matt Moench said he found Platkin's statement "quite perplexing" and said the township had been "stonewalled" by the Attorney General’s Office.

Delaying the report is a lawsuit filed by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office to quash a subpoena from a Bridgewater police officer who is the subject of a disciplinary hearing.

Officer Adam Giurlando has subpoenaed two documents from the Prosecutor's Office's review of the incident that he claims, "contain exculpatory evidence and must be disclosed," according to court papers.

The disciplinary charges that Giurlando is facing have not been disclosed, and it's not known if the other officer involved in the incident, Brittany MacDonald, is facing any charges.

Court papers say Giurlando faces the disciplinary charges based on a recommendation from the Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

One document sought by the officer is a preliminary use of force report, and the other is a draft memo containing a legal analysis of the incident and the internal affairs investigation, both prepared by the Prosecutor's Office.

But Judge Ballard has denied the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office motion to quash the subpoena.

However, the Prosecutor's Office on Jan. 31 appealed the judge's ruling and a stay on producing the two documents was ordered by Appellate Court Judge Katie Gummer on Feb. 2.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ reaches settlement with Black teen in viral mall arrest