Linden pays $85K to settle false arrest lawsuit
LINDEN - The city has paid $85,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a Linden man who claimed he lost his job after being jailed after a false arrest.
In a settlement first reported by Transparency NJ, Rayvon Leverette settled his federal lawsuit against the city in March in connection with his Feb. 22, 2019 arrest on various charges, including second-degree eluding, which led him to being jailed for five days.
As a result of his incarceration, the lawsuit argued, Leverette lost his job at a Bergen County chemical factory.
The Union County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the charge four months later on June 27, 2019.
The lawsuit alleged that Linden police identified Leverette as a driver of a white BMW that was involved in a high-speed pursuit.
The probable cause affidavit prepared by Officer James Garrison positively identified Levetee as the driver of the car which traveled east of East Elizabeth Avenue at speeds more than 100 mph in a 25 mph zone. The affidavit also said that Leverette "blew through" a stop sign and almost struck another vehicle.
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After the incident, police went to Leverette's house, arrested him and impounded a white BMW.
But Leverette told police that he could not not have been the driver since he was at work in Bergen County at the time of the incident. The lawsuit also said that the white BMW impounded at Leverette's home was not the same white BMW that was involved in the pursuit.
Leverette was then taken to the Union County jail where he remained for five days before being transferred to Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark. He was released on Feb. 27, 2019 after a hearing in Superior Court.
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But while he was in jail, the lawsuit said, he was fired from the job at the Bergen County chemical factory. He was unable to find new employment and, when he did, "it was for less compensation" than his previous job.
According to the settlement, Linden continues to maintain the validity of its denials and does not adminit any wrongdoing or liability.
As part of the settlement, Leverette agreed to make no "disparaging" comments about the city and the police officers.
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.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Linden NJ pays $85K to settle false arrest lawsuit
