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Officer Nicholas Romantino is suspended without pay while this trial plays out before a jury and Judge Robert Kugler.
Edward Minguela matched the police radio description of a man with a gun outside a liquor store in Camden’s Fairview section. Minguela was not armed and is seen on video putting his hands up when Romantino wrestles him to the ground and punches him repeatedly.
The federal authorities are also charging Romantino with falsifying police reports after the altercation.
On the stand, his supervising officer testified he thought force wasn’t necessary that night and an eyewitness who videoed the beating suggested he didn’t see Minguela resist.
The trial is expected to take a week or more.
The Camden County Prosecutor declined to file charges in the case last year.