A judge's gavel - file photo — A judge's gavel - File Photo

Trenton, NJ – A federal judge has rejected attempts by two law enforcement officers to escape liability in a long-running civil rights lawsuit tied to the 2015 arrest of Ronald Saintil.

U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi on Monday denied summary judgment motions filed by Scott Crocco, a Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office sergeant, and Thomas O’Connor, a Carteret police detective. Both men had argued they were shielded by qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects government officials from liability unless they violated clearly established rights.

The case, first filed in 2017, stems from an operation in which Crocco, O’Connor, and other officers descended on Saintil’s Hamilton, New Jersey apartment while investigating a homicide. What occurred during the encounter remains sharply disputed. Saintil claims his rights were violated during his arrest and the search of his property, while the officers maintain their actions were lawful.

The district court had previously sided with the defendants, granting summary judgment in their favor, but the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part last year. The appellate judges instructed the lower court to revisit whether Crocco and O’Connor were entitled to immunity.

With Monday’s ruling, the case will now move forward toward trial, leaving the two officers still facing civil rights claims nearly a decade after the events in question.

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