Paterson man who spent 5 ½ years in prison on dismissed gun conviction sues city
PATERSON — A city man who spent 2,027 days behind bars before his gun conviction was dismissed by the courts has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Paterson and the four police officers who arrested him.
Michael Goodwin, now 35, was released from East Jersey State Prison last spring after an appellate court ruled the police should have gotten a search warrant before chasing him inside what the officers said appeared to be a vacant building in Paterson’s 1st Ward in October 2017.
The appellate court ruled that the guns and drugs allegedly found in Goodwin’s possession could not be used as evidence against him because they were obtained without a search warrant.
Goodwin’s lawsuit, filed on April 4, said he spent 5 years, 6 months, and 19 days “wrongfully incarcerated.” The lawsuit claimed that Goodwin — who court documents show had an extensive criminal record prior to the incident in question — committed no crimes when he was arrested.
What does the lawsuit allege?
Goodwin’s complaint — which is 114 pages long with exhibits — accused the city and its cops of 11 different civil rights violations, including malicious prosecution, excessive force, false imprisonment, mistaken imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotion distress.
City officials have an ongoing policy of not commenting on pending lawsuits. The city has paid out millions of dollars to settle lawsuits accusing its police officers of wrongdoing.
Goodwin’s arrest happened when four detectives on patrol saw a man, Alan Aiken, walking from the back of a house at 58 Manchester Ave. One detective, Jason English, went to the backyard while the others — Ryan Duffy, Louis Pacelli and Sebastian Gomez — spoke with Aiken.
Aiken allegedly told the officers he was there to meet his drug dealer, according to the appellate court decision.
Meanwhile, English claimed he looked over the top of a six-foot-high fence and saw Goodwin come out of 56 Manchester Ave. onto the rear porch holding a silver gun in his right hand, the appellate decision said. English said he yelled “gun,” and Goodwin fled inside.
Goodwin’s lawsuit claimed he was not carrying a weapon. The lawsuit said the police officers wrongfully broke into the house at 56 Manchester Ave., assaulted Goodwin and arrested him.
The appellate court decision said police reported finding two guns in the house, including one from Goodwin's waistband, as well as marijuana and numerous one-dose packets of heroin.
The ruling dismissing Goodwin’s conviction said the assertion that English saw someone holding a gun on private property was not enough reason for the cops to break into 56 Manchester Ave. to chase after him. The appellate court said the officers did not know if the man owned the gun legally, therefore they should have gotten a search warrant.
Moreover, the appellate court said English had no probable cause for going into the backyard at 58 Manchester Ave., so whatever he saw from there could not be used as probable cause for entering the house next door.
More from Paterson Press: Police want to buy tactical robots for certain calls. Here's what they would do
Forced to allow a police search?
Goodwin had been convicted at trial of the gun and drug crimes and was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years, with a minimum term of 15 years, according to court records.
Goodwin’s lawsuit said the officers had drawn their guns inside the house where the suspect was arrested and forced him with threats to sign a release form allowing them to search the premises.
“Mr. Goodwin begged for his life and pleaded with the Police Defendants not to kill him,” said the lawsuit.
The civil complaint also called into question the officers’ claims about encountering Aiken, saying the cops conspired to concoct a story to cover up their actions.
“It is entirely unclear whether Aiken ever really existed, or whether the Police Defendants allowed Aiken to just walk away freely after admitting that he had just attempted to buy drugs,” said the lawsuit.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ man sent to prison on dismissed gun conviction sues city
