Three New Jersey police officers have been indicted on charges accusing them of covering for a New York police captain after they responded to a domestic violence call — despite the fact the victim, with whom he was having an affair, was found battered and bloody.
Paterson police officers Justin Schmid, Guiseppe Ciarla and Juan Cruz-Fernandez are each facing criminal counts including official misconduct, conspiracy to commit official misconduct and hindering apprehension, according to NJ.com. Cruz-Fernandez was additionally charged with tampering with public records or information.
All three were called to a dead-end at 21st Avenue in the early hours of Dec.10, 2022 to investigate reports of a woman being assaulted and pushed into an SUV, according to arrest affidavits filed by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
When they arrived on the scene around 3:25 a.m., they encountered the victim, who was visibly injured, and a man who identified himself as Hariton Marachilian, an NYPD captain who then commanded a Brooklyn precinct.
In their subsequent reports, the Paterson officers wrote that the woman — also a New York police captain — told them she could not remember how she got her injuries. They said they allowed Marachilian to leave the scene after finding “no evidence of domestic violence” and “no dating relationship.”
Prosecutors have since argued Marachilian should not have been allowed to leave, citing the woman’s injuries, which allegedly included swelling to her nose and face, cuts to her eye and bruises on her leg and feet.
“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 in a statement announcing the charges.
“The Paterson officers did not search for or collect physical evidence,” the statement continued. “Marachilian was permitted to drive away from the scene by the officers and was not charged with any domestic violence offenses at the time.”
Schmid, is scheduled for a court appearance on Dec. 18. The other two, Guiseppe Ciarla and Juan Cruz-Fernandez, are meanwhile due back in court on Dec. 20.
Marachilian was eventually arrested last December on charges of kidnapping, assault, criminal restraint and criminal coercion.
In the original court documents outlining the charges, Marachilian was accused of grabbing the woman’s hair and smashing her head into a dashboard. She managed to escape the vehicle but Marachilian allegedly chased her down, picked her up and slammed her to the ground. He then choked her, dragged her back to his vehicle and repeatedly punched her, prosecutors said.
He was suspended without pay at the time of his arrest and is currently being held in Bergen County Jail.