PATERSON — A federal judge has dismissed the civil rights claims brought by Jameek Lowery’s family against three Paterson police officers and the city’s police department over his 2019 death in custody.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled on Sept. 10 that federal claims did not hold, while noting he had no jurisdiction over related state law claims — including wrongful death, excessive force, and assault.
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“Policy-laden state law questions should be taken up by state courts, not this one,” Farbiarz wrote.
The case is now expected to move forward in New Jersey Superior Court.
What Happened in 2019
Lowery’s death followed a January 2019 live-streamed video at Paterson police headquarters in which he admitted taking drugs, expressed paranoia, and claimed officers wanted to kill him.
Outside, officers Michael Avila, Mucio Lucero, and Kyle Wanamaker helped EMTs load Lowery into an ambulance to return him to the ER he had left less than an hour earlier.
Once inside, Lowery became combative, striking and kicking officers. They restrained him on a stretcher, and he was transported to a hospital. He died two days later.
Conflicting Accounts of Force
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The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office ruled officers committed no crimes, while the state medical examiner attributed Lowery’s death to accidental cardiac arrest during a drug-induced psychotic episode.
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Lowery’s family presented a medical expert who blamed officer-inflicted blows and a 163-page report by a retired sergeant calling the force “unreasonable, excessive, unnecessary, not consistent with police training/standards, and not proportional.”
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Defense experts countered that multiple factors caused his death and that officers acted within use-of-force policies.
Judge’s Findings on Oversight
The family also accused the Paterson Police Department of failing to supervise the officers. Farbiarz dismissed that claim, writing that the evidence showed little more than isolated issues:
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Some officers filed incomplete paperwork.
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Two junior officers patrolled together.
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One officer with a prior violation had been disciplined.
“Looking at all this as a whole, the Court concludes that no reasonable jury could find that the City can be liable here on a failure-to-supervise theory,” Farbiarz said.
The decision leaves open the state-level claims, where the family’s case will now continue.
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