Sicklerville man seeks more than $1 million in damages after prison attack
CAMDEN – Two inmates from South Jersey are at the center of a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million for alleged civil rights violations at a state prison.
Eliezer Rodriguez, a 49-year-old Sicklerville man, has brought the suit over an alleged attack in his cell at Northern State Prison in February 2021.
Rodriguez contends the Newark prison’s administration failed to protect him from his cellmate, 33-year-old Isaac Bruce of Camden.
The suit says Rodriguez requested “for many days and weeks” to be moved away from Bruce, who allegedly has a history of attacking cellmates.
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It contends Rodriguez faced “overt threats” from Bruce, because the Sicklerville man had been involved in a physical confrontation with another inmate in his cellmate’s prison gang.
It also says officials knew Bruce previously had exhibited “violent and erratic behavior after using synthetic cannabinoids known as k2 and/or spice."
Lawsuit: Eliezer Rodriguez was left unprotected
Prison officials took no action, however, and the suit says Rodriguez was "brutally attacked and beaten into unconsciousness and near death” by Bruce.
The suit also contends Rodriguez’ health was worsened by inadequate medical care after the assault.
The incident reflects a greater problem than one man's experience in prison, said attorney Stephen Cristal of Pleasantville, who is representing Rodriguez.
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"What happens in our prisons resonates throughout all of society," he said in an email Tuesday.
"The failure to eliminate fear, terror and violence from the state prison system wreaks havoc on our country like the poisoning of our ground water.'
A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The suit asserts prison officials violated Rodriguez’ right to be kept in a safe environment and to receive adequate medical care.
Among other claims, it says officials showed “deliberate indifference” by putting Rodriguez and Bruce in the same cell and by allowing Bruce to have access to illegal drugs.
Rodriguez, who has since been released, was serving a three-and-a-half year term for a nonviolent drug offense.
Bruce received a 22-year sentence for manslaughter convictions tied to two shooting deaths in Camden in 2014.
The suit was filed in Superior Court in Camden in February. It was moved this month to Camden federal court at the request of the state Attorney General's Office.
Defendants include six named corrections officers and two nurses at Northern State.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Eliezer Rodriguez says prison officials didn't protect him from attack
