Jersey City Council To Vote On Lawyer In Police Brutality Suit

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The City Council will vote on Wednesday, whether to renew the contract of Netchert Dineen & Hillman, Esqs, an outside law firm, to handle an ongoing police brutality lawsuit pending against a Jersey City police officer.

The total contract renewal will cost no more than $50,000 according to the resolution. The contract was initially ratified in April 2018 at $50,000 and renewed again in 2019 and 2020 as the case continued. The firm would represent Jersey City Police Officer Morton Otundo in a lawsuit filed by Jonathan Sanders in U.S. District Court on January 26, 2018. The lawsuit claims Sanders was a victim of false arrest/imprisonment, illegal search and seizure and that the officer used excessive force.

The case follows a May 2017 incident when Sanders claims four Jersey City officers assaulted him and used excessive force, sending him to the hospital for six days and leaving Sanders with reconstructive facial surgery. The incident was caught, in part, on surveillance cameras with no sound. The police reports from the incident claim Sanders was drunk and combative.

Following the incident, Officer Otundo face disciplinary charges and the Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit investigated and found he had used excessive force; they required reassignment to administrative duties and further protocols should he resume patrol. Otundo had previously faced similar charges, but none had resulted in a finding against him.

In April 2021, Otundo's motion for summary judgment in the case was granted in part and denied in part.

Read the full resolution and contract terms that the City Council will vote on online.