Ex-Olympian's lawsuit claiming police ignored him before Morris shooting dismissed

A judge in Morris County has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Olympian Michael Barisone, who accused nearly a dozen Washington Township police officers of ignoring fears he had of a violent tenant whom police say he later shot twice.

Barisone, 57, filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court in July saying officers "intentionally" disregarded several 911 calls and an in-person plea at the police station in the days leading up to the Aug. 7, 2019, incident at his Long Valley equestrian farm. Lauren Kanarek, who was living on Barisone's property while being trained, was shot twice in the chest. Police say Barisone shot at her fiancé, Robert Goodwin, but missed.

Barisone argued civil rights violations after he said officers unlawfully falsified police reports following three visits to his farm as well as an in-person visit to the police station, where Barisone — who said he was suffering a psychological breakdown — said Kanarek and Goodwin had guns and had made deadly threats. Officers, he said, refused to assist him, merely laughed off the claims and did not further investigate.

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But Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi felt otherwise.

"Even in taking [Barisone's] assertions to be true, there is no support for any civil rights violations under either the United States or the New Jersey Constitution," Sceusi wrote in an order dismissing Barisone's complaint on Nov. 17.

While Sceusi said it is unclear whether the police reports contained falsehoods, he cited case law that the filing of a false report is not itself a constitutional violation. He also noted that Barisone's claims that police failed to investigate his complaints were invalid.

"Courts have held that a plaintiff does not have a constitutional right to have police investigate on their behalf, let alone do so to their satisfaction," Sceusi said.

Barisone also argued in the suit that the township and its officers characterized his complaints as "private disputes" between a landlord and a tenant instead of what he said should have been criminal acts. Sceusi cited two New Jersey statutes that protect public entities or employees from liability for failing to provide sufficient police protection services. State statute also bars municipalities from civil legal liability for failing to make an arrest or for keeping an arrested party in custody.

Barisone's attorney, Chris Deininger, filed a motion to file an amended complaint, which Sceusi denied. Deininger on Monday did not respond to a request for comment.

William Johnson, an attorney who represented Washington Township and its officers, acknowledged the dismissal but did not comment further.

In the initial lawsuit, Barisone, an Olympic-level athletic trainer in the equestrian sport of dressage, said he operated a peaceful farm until Kanarek and Goodwin "forced" their way in as temporary residents at the farm. Kanarek's father was wealthy and helped his daughter find boarding and residency at the farm, the suit said.

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Barisone said Kanarek and Goodwin had dark pasts, littered with criminal charges, drug use and possession of weapons. Barisone first called 911 on July 21, 2019, a week before the shooting, saying he was verbally assaulted by Kanarek and Goodwin. Police came two more times, but Barisone said that despite expressing fears that the duo had a loaded firearm and had planted electronic devices around the farm, officers ignored the concerns and failed to investigate further.

While in the Washington Township police station on Aug. 5, 2019, Barisone said officers refused to help him, despite pleas that he and his family were in fear for their lives.

In a proposed amended lawsuit, Barisone's attorney amplified that his client has a valid civil rights injury since he was mistreated as a victim of crime. Barisone, he said, also faced discrimination by officers.

"The defendants intentionally discriminated against Barisone as a mentally fragile man in his 50s, in favor of a criminal female in her 30s," the proposed amended complaint states.

Sceusi, however, found no basis for the new claims and called the attempts to "assert constitutional rights to fairness, respect and compassion to be absurd."

He also called out Barisone's attorney for using the word "intentional" more than 85 times in the proposed complaint, saying that "merely using the word ... simply does not make it so."

Attorneys have been before state Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor over the past several months on various motions in the criminal case. Barisone is expected back in court on Dec. 1. A tentative trial date is set for February.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Michael Barisone lawsuit in Morris County shooting case dismissed