City says it will cover punitive damages if jury rules against Vineland cop
VINELAND – The city will cover any punitive damages a federal jury approves against a police officer sued in a case involving a local man who died shortly after being taken into custody in March 2015.
The City Council, at its Dec. 28, 2021 meeting, voted to indemnify co-defendant Officer Louis Platania in the event the city loses at trial and punitive damages are assessed against Platania. The case is to go to trial shortly.
“In light of what is happening in the courts today, there is a concern that a jury in Camden County may ignore the facts and punish police,” city Solicitor Richard Tonetta said.
Tonetta said the city feels the facts of the case are in its favor, however.
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A federal lawsuit was brought in November 2016 by the mother and two children of the deceased man, Phillip George White, a resident of Walnut Road in Vineland. The family is asking for $10 million, plus unspecified punitive damages from the city and Platania.
A jury trial was scheduled to start on Jan. 18 in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Camden, but it recently was postponed without a new start date due to the federal courthouse being closed for health reasons.
Remaining pre-trial issues include reviewing what questions may be put to prospective jurors, with the plaintiffs submitting their list in mid-December. The city’s attorney has not submitted a list as of Tuesday.
The council resolution cites language from a New Jersey law allowing for additional insurance coverage for government employees in the case of punitive damages. The condition is there is no evidence that the employee committed “actual fraud, actual malice, willful misconduct or an intentional wrong.”
The council reviewed videos of the incident and met with attorneys before deciding, Tonetta said.
White, who was 32, died in an ambulance en route to a hospital after his arrest on the 100 block of West Grape Street. Police had responded to a call from a resident about a disturbance on March 31, 2015.
In June 2016, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office announced that a county grand jury had reviewed what happened and declined to issue an indictment. The Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey State Police investigated the incident.
The Prosecutor’s Office, at that time, also disclosed that autopsy results attributed White’s death to a “toxic level” of Phencyclidine in his body. The drug commonly is known as PCP.
A police K-9 called Agir, paired with Platania, was loosed on White in the incident. However, a medical examiner characterized the injuries from the dog as “superficial” and not sufficient to have caused death.
The lawsuit also named the police chief at the time, Timothy Codispoti, as a defendant, and another police officer who was at the scene, Richard Janasiak.
Janasiak was dismissed as a defendant, after an unopposed motion.
The plaintiffs are Pamela White, the mother of the deceased and administrator of his estate; an adult daughter, Iyonna Hannah; and a minor son.
The case is assigned to Judge Joshua D. Wolson.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Police death case nears civil trial, officer insured against damages
