BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A settlement reached between Bridgewater Township and the parents of Black teen Z’kye Husain, who was involved in the nationally viral mall incident in 2022, is not the end to the saga.
“This settlement, however, does not end the Husain family or the wider community’s pursuit of justice and accountability from Bridgewater Township. That pursuit is far from over,” said National civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, co-counsel Gregg Zeff, and the Bergen County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in a release.
Crump, Zeff, and the Husain family held a news conference with the Bergen County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Thursday in Hackensack to speak about the settlement and to call on Bridgewater and authorities to do more.
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Zeff announced that they will be hosting their own Implicit Bias Training for officers in New Jersey.
“We are not going to take any government funds. We are going to do this privately,” said Zeff. “We want to take names and see who is showing up and who is not showing up. And Bridgewater we want to see you there. The job isn’t done and we aren’t going to stop until this sort of thing stops everywhere.”
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Zeff claimed to have reached out to Bridgewater to share in the joint press conference and to launch the new training together but was rejected. Zeff told reporters he did not speak directly with Mayor Matthew Moench or Police Chief John Mitzak about this offer.
Bridgewater did not immediately respond to Patch’s request for comment.
“It’s heartbreaking to see what they did, they took this young Black child to the ground, handcuffs, knees in back after George Floyd and then they comfort the young white child, treated him as an angel, surely he was the victim,” said Crump about the police’s actions in the mall incident in 2022. “That’s why we will have this program to teach police officers how not to kill our children following the constitutional rights and use of excess force and brutality.”
Zeff said the new training program is currently getting underway. Crump said they hope to launch it by Z’kye Husain’s birthday on Jan. 30.
As far as the settlement which was reached following a friendly conference, Crump and Zeff would not disclose the amount of the settlement reached between the Township and Ebone and Jihad Husain, parents of Z’kye Husain, on Jan. 30 before Judge Robert A. Ballard.
The lawsuit filed did seek $100,000 plus interest, costs, and attorney’s fees.
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The hearing and settlement stemmed from a four-count lawsuit filed on Nov. 27, 2023 by Zeff of Zeff Law Firm in Mount Laurel, on behalf of the Husain family.
The lawsuit claimed the Township’s police officers involved in the Feb. 12, 2022, Bridgewater Commons incident discriminated against them by allowing their son, who was 14 at the time, “to be subjected to a hostile environment based on his race.”
As a result of the discrimination, the family claims they “have suffered and will continue to suffer severe harm, and are entitled to all legal and equitable remedies available under the NJLAD, including, but not limited to, compensatory damages and punitive damages, in amounts to be determined at trial.”
See the full conference below:
The Mall Incident
The incident went viral nationally when it was recorded by body-worn cameras and mall patrons at the mall just after 7 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2022. Read More: Cops Criticized After Stopping Teen Fight At Bridgewater Mall
During the incident, Bridgewater Township police officers forced one juvenile, a 14-year-old Black boy (Husain), to the ground and handcuffed him, while a 15-year-old (Umar Joseph Franco), who is of Colombian and Pakistani heritage and who was perceived to be white, was placed on a chair and not handcuffed, according to the Attorney General.
The video was posted to social media and as a result, more than 1,000 complaints were received by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bridgewater Police Department, alleging discriminatory conduct based on race by the officers, according to the AG.
Both juveniles were later released to their parents, and no charges were filed against either child.
Following the release of the video, Murphy also previously said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video and the New Jersey chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization, had called for the Bridgewater officers involved to be immediately removed from the police force pending an investigation.
Several marches by activists were also held calling for justice for Husain.
The fate of the two officers involved – Adam Giurlando and Officer Brittany MacDonald – remains open.
Matthew Reilly with the New Jersey Department of Justice’s Office told Patch no charges in the District of New Jersey were filed against either Bridgewater Officers Adam Giurlando and Brittany MacDonald. Read More: Mall Video Investigation Ends Without Charges For Bridgewater Cops
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin released an update on Feb. 10, 2023, on the investigation saying the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) with the Attorney General completed its investigation in September 2022 and sent a comprehensive Internal Affairs Report and Findings to Mitzak.
“Since that time, the matter has been proceeding in the local administrative process over which this Office has no control,” said Plaktin. Read More: Attorney General, Bridgewater Mayor At Odds Over Mall Investigation
That investigation report has not been made public and Bridgewater Township Council members have said in the past that they have not seen the report as well.
Bridgewater Township is awaiting the outcome of a court ruling to determine if any disciplinary action will be taken against Giurlando and Officer Brittany MacDonald.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Giurlando have been in a stalemate over the release of documents related to the Feb. 12, 2022 mall incident. Read More: Bridgewater Cop, Prosecutor To Begin Mediation Over Mall Investigation
Most recently, the Somerset County Superior Court issued a motion for a stay pending appeal on the request to release the documents on Feb. 5.
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