Officer Accused In $5M Suit Of Beating Man Quits Edison Police, Report Says

EDISON, NJ — An Edison police officer accused in a $5 million federal civil rights lawsuit of dragging a man from his vehicle and beating him, and who was previously suspended from the police department, has resigned, according to a report.

Matthew Talavera resigned from the Edison Police Department on Dec. 3, NJ.com reported. Patch has reached out to Edison officials to confirm Talavera’s resignation.

Talavera was named in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Middlesex County resident Carlton R. Brathwaite in connection with an Oct. 6, 2023, incident where Brathwaite alleges he was racially profiled and harassed because he was sitting in a legally parked car while Black.

Brathwaite's lawsuit, filed in 2024, says he was “falsely arrested, violently assaulted and brutally beaten” by Talavera and other unknown Edison police officers. Also named in the lawsuit were the Edison Police Department and the township.

Brathwaite alleges that the actions of Talavera and the involved Edison police officers constituted excessive force and directly violated his state and federal, civil and constitutional rights.

Messages to Talavera’s attorney, Brathwaite’s attorney, Edison officials and Edison police were not immediately answered on Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, around 1 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2023, Brathwaite was sitting in a parked vehicle with his brother listening to music and having a conversation when Talavera and other unnamed officers arrested him, hit him with a weapon and pushed him to the ground.

“The brothers recently lost their mother and were discussing caring for their elderly stepfather,” the lawsuit said. The vehicle's engine was off at the time, according to the complaint.

Brathwaite said he was denied necessary medical treatment, held in jail and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and obstructing the administration of law, according to the lawsuit.

The charges against Brathwaite were dismissed in April 2024, and his record was expunged after authorities failed to produce body-worn camera recordings of the incident to Judge Colleen Flynn, who was presiding over the criminal case, the lawsuit said.

During one hearing, the complaint said Flynn admonished the defendants, telling them that their criminal claim and attempted prosecution of Brathwaite didn’t pass “the smell test.”

Brathwaite said he sustained “severe and permanent injury,” including a fractured skull and hand, cuts on his face, multiple bruises and abrasions and a concussion, headaches, and scars.

Brathwaite “almost lost his life” as a result of the beating, the lawsuit alleges, and suffers from migraines, angioedema, facial edema, and was diagnosed with gastric cancer.

In addition to the lawsuit, Talavera was also named in the NJ Attorney General's 2024 Major Discipline Report.

According to the report, while Talavera was conducting an investigative stop of a suspect vehicle, he used force to take the suspect to the ground and struck the suspect. The report did not specify what date this incident occurred.

"Ptl. Talavera did not use de-escalation techniques, and did not use force as a last resort," the report said. "Ptl. Talavera's report was substandard and was not adequate in reflecting what occurred on scene. Ptl. Talavera was sustained for conduct unbecoming, willful violation of rules and regulations, and misconduct pursuant to NJSA 40A: 14-147 et Seq."

As a result of the incident, the report said Talavera was given a monetary fine or loss of pay and was suspended for 10 days.