Bayonne Police Officer Domenico Lillo was arrested for violating a defendant’s civil rights by using excessive force during an arrest, as well as falsifying records in an attempt to conceal the alleged crime, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Lillo, 44, of Bayonne, was arrested by federal agents this morning and after a federal grand jury in Newark returned an indictment charging him with the deprivation of civil rights under color of law and falsification of records, officials said.
“Bayonne Police Officer Domenico Lillo was arrested by the FBI this morning,” FBI spokeswoman Barbara Woodruff exclusively told Hudson County View earlier today.
Lillo appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark at 2:00 p.m. in front of Judge James Clark for his arraignment, where he was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to the indictment, on the early evening of Dec. 27, 2013, Lillo and other police officers from the Bayonne Police Department went to an address in Bayonne to execute a Sussex County arrest warrant.
Lillo allegedly struck the subject of the warrant, Brandon Walsh, with a flashlight while the individual was handcuffed and not resisting arrest, which resulted in bodily injury.
Lillo then allegedly falsified a Bayonne Police Department Use of Force Report related to the arrest with the intent to impede an investigation into the case.
The use of excessive force count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, while the charge of falsifying records carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
“The [Mayor Jimmy] Davis administration is going to fully cooperate with the FBI in every and anyway possible to assist their efforts,” Bayonne spokesman Jeff Meyer told Hudson County View.
Following Lillo’s arraignment, Meyer said the city of Bayonne has suspended him without pay.