These 3 Paterson cops were charged in a domestic violence case involving NYPD captains

PATERSON — Three city cops were accused Monday of crimes connected to the way they handled a domestic violence call involving a pair of New York City police captains in December 2022, officials announced.

Sgt. Guiseppe Ciarla, 42, and Police Officers Jason Schmid, 34, and Juan Cruz-Fernandez, 29, were charged with official misconduct, conspiracy to commit official misconduct, hindering apprehension and tampering with public records in the incident.

Hariton Marachilian, one of the two NYPD captains, ended up being arrested for alleged kidnapping, aggravated assault and other crimes almost a year after the incident, charges filed only after New York City police and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office began investigating what happened.

The victim had visible injuries when the Paterson officers responded to the call, the prosecutors said in announcing the charges Monday.

“In the ensuing interaction, the Paterson officers did not sufficiently investigate how the victim obtained her injuries and did not treat or obtain treatment for the victim’s injuries,” the Prosecutor’s Office said. “The Paterson officers did not search for or collect physical evidence. Marachilian was permitted to drive away from the scene by the officers and was not charged with any domestic violence offenses at the time.”

The victim of Marachilian’s alleged attack also was a New York police captain, and the two of them reportedly had been romantically involved, court documents say. The incident happened after the two were with a group of people at a restaurant in Paterson.

Differences between police report and affidavit of probable cause

A Paterson police report filed at the time of the alleged assault gave a sharply conflicting version of what happened compared with the affidavit of probable cause against Marachilian submitted by prosecutor’s detectives in November 2023.

Authorities in New Jersey have not released any police body-camera recordings from the original incident.

Ciarla has been a member of the Paterson Police Department since 2005 and Schmid since 2014, payroll records show. Cruz graduated from the police training academy about six months before the domestic violence incident.

The Paterson police report from last December said officers were called to 655 21st Ave. "for a report of a domestic assault." Marachilian and the woman were inside Marachilian’s SUV when the Paterson cops arrived at the scene, the report said.

Marachilian, who was 45 at the time, said he and the woman simply were having a verbal dispute about a $700 dinner tab among "a group of coworkers," the police report said. The woman told the officers she did not recall details of the argument, or her injuries, the Paterson report said.

Marachilian and the woman allegedly told the Paterson patrol officer and a sergeant that they had "no dating relationship," said the police report, written on the day of the incident. Both Marichilian and the woman "refused further police help and medical attention," the report said.

The woman appeared drunk, the police report said.

More from Paterson Press: Why are there conflicting accounts of NYPD captain’s domestic violence case in Paterson?

Additional allegations

Almost a year after the incident, the prosecutor’s probable cause affidavit included allegations from subsequent statements made by the woman. The complaint said Marachilian grabbed the woman’s hair and smashed her head into the dashboard of his vehicle.

The prosecutor’s account said the woman tried to run away, but Marachilian chased her down, lifted her over his head and threw her to the ground. He allegedly choked her, dragged her to his vehicle, drove somewhere else in Paterson and then repeatedly punched her in the face.

Marachilian allegedly took the female captain’s phone so she couldn’t call for help. The woman allegedly had bruises and swelling on her face, along with cuts on her eyes, the affidavit said. She was bleeding from her nose and face.

Neither the Paterson police report nor the affidavit mentioned that the alleged attacker and the victim were NYPD captains. The affidavits said the woman refused medial care and called Marachilian “a friend.”

But Marachian said the two of them were having an affair, the affidavit said.

“Based on this admission and the visible injuries, swelling and blood” on the victim, “this warrants a mandatory arrest,” the affidavit said.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police officers charged in domestic case involving NYPD