NJ Cops Handcuffed, Pointed Guns At Black Uber Driver Who Called 911: Lawsuit

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Black Uber driver was handcuffed and officers pointed their weapons at him after he called 911 for help with a passenger, according to a lawsuit.

Youssouf Saleh, a Jersey City resident, filed the civil suit in April in Bergen County Superior Court. He is suing the Borough of East Rutherford, seven East Rutherford Police Department officers, and five Carlstadt Police Department officers.

Saleh and his attorney are demanding a jury trial and allege the officers racially profiled him, abused their authority, and violated his civil rights, records show.

The incident happened July 23, 2021 in East Rutherford. Saleh called 911 because "he was having a problem with a white male passenger who threatened him with a knife," the lawsuit says.

Two ERPD officers, Evans and DeRosa, arrived while Saleh was on the phone with a 911 operator, the lawsuit says.

The 911 operator told Saleh to put some distance between himself and the passenger, the lawsuit says. So, Saleh had walked away from his car to a grassy area while the passenger was still inside. Evans arrived first and spoke to the passenger, "and then he and Officer DeRosa approached the plaintiff while he was still on the cellphone with the 911 dispatch operator."

The lawsuit says Saleh walked towards the officers, who drew their weapons and pointed them at him when he was about 25 feet away. Saleh told the dispatcher the officers had their guns on him, and that they were yelling at him but he couldn't understand, the lawsuit says.

Evans and DeRosa told Saleh to drop his phone, lay down on the street, and put his hands behind his back, documents show.

"While on the ground face down, the plaintiff continued to explain to the officers that he was the one who called 911, but they continued to ignore him," the lawsuit reads. They also searched him for weapons.

Some other officers arrived and began talking with the white male passenger while Saleh sat on the curb, according to court documents. These officers included a detective captain and detective sergeant from East Rutherford, and several Carlstadt police officers, records show.

After some discussion, the officers realized Saleh was the driver and the other man was the passenger had threatened him. They released the handcuffs, documents show. By this time, Saleh had begun to hyperventilate and was taken by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center, "where he was treated and discharged with a diagnosis of PTSD and anxiety disorder."

The lawsuit claims that Saleh continues to suffer psychological injuries caused by the officers' racial profiling and threat of deadly force.

According to the New Jersey Herald, who first reported this story, the passenger "was arrested but is not named in the lawsuit."