Carlton Brathwaite and his brother Derek were sitting in a car one night two years ago, discussing what to do with their elderly stepfather after the death of their mother, when they were confronted by New Jersey cops who brutalized one of the Black men.
The main cop, Edison Police Officer Matthew Talavera, tried to justify the arrest by claiming Carlton Brathwaite had assaulted him but refused to produce his body camera footage to a judge to confirm the allegation.
As a result, the judge dismissed the case against Brathwaite, telling Talavera the arrest did not pass the “smell test,” prompting Brathwaite to file a lawsuit.
Then Talavera argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because of qualified immunity — the legal doctrine that protects cops from lawsuits unless they violated “clearly established” rights — but that also failed…