Darren Yurick, 38, of Morning Glory Court, said he was injured Jan. 27, 2013, while in custody at the township’s jail. His federal lawsuit claims he was assaulted by Patrolmen Patrick Stesner and Michael Tier following his arrest on simple-assault and criminal-restraint charges relating to a domestic violence incident.

Yurick’s suit claims the assault by police was captured on the township’s video surveillance system in the police department. The video, released by Yurick’s lawyer, Thomas H. Mallon of Freehold, appears to show a police officer, identified by Mallon as Stesner, striking Yurick twice while inside the jail cell.

This is the second time Stesner has been named in a lawsuit claiming assault.

In 2008, Mallon filed a federal lawsuit against Berkeley police, including Stesner, on behalf of Michael Forte, a Bayville resident who claimed he was beaten by several officers after he went to his brother’s apartment on Korman Road to check on him.

That lawsuit was settled in 2010, with no admission of wrongdoing by police or the township. Mallon said he could not comment on the settlement because it is confidential. Court records show that Forte received a $110,000 settlement from the township.

Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, said Berkeley police conducted an internal investigation of the 2013 incident and cleared the two officers. The prosecutor’s office also reviewed the evidence and concurred that the officers had done nothing wrong. In a police report on the incident, Officer Stesner claims that Yurick kicked him, injuring him in the moments before the officer punched Yurick.

“The video is a small segment of a larger amount of video which gives a clearer picture of the entire event,” Della Fave said. Della Fave said that if Mallon were to bring more information forward, “then we’d revisit the case and would do an additional investigation.”

Mallon said the video was given to Yurick by the Berkeley Township police department.

“The tape … shows the officer punching my client twice in the face. Mr. Yurick had a broken nose as the result of this,” Mallon said. “The tape clearly shows an unprovoked attack on a helpless individual who clearly has his hands cuffed behind his back…. This is a man who did not deserve to be treated like this.” Mallon said he does not believe the Prosecutor’s Office did a thorough investigation of the case.

Lauren R. Staiger, Berkeley’s township attorney, said that the township has not yet received the lawsuit.

“Once it is received, they have to send it off to their insurance carrier, and then it’s assigned to someone who will represent them,” Staiger said. Berkeley is a member of the Garden State Municipal Joint Insurance Fund.

A police report on the incident said that Yurick was arrested at a Magnolia Avenue apartment at about 3:30 p.m., after his wife claimed Yurick had assaulted her by hitting her and dragging her back into her apartment. Yurick was charged with simple assault and domestic violence, but while in the Berkeley jail he attempted to escape, police said. The video shows Yurick putting his hand through the bars of the cell and touching its lock.

In the police report, Office Stesner said he and Officer Tier ordered Yurick out of the cell to handcuff him. But Yurick was uncooperative, and police took him to the ground after he “attempted to get into some type of fighting stance,” the report said. While on the ground being held by the officers, Yurick was handcuffed.

When the officers attempted to bring Yurick back into the cell, he again resisted, kicking Stesner once in the stomach and once in the left thigh, according to the report. “Knowing he was going to kick me again, I struck him once in the face, which was the only available area, with a closed fist, which immediately de-escalated the situation,” Stesner wrote in the report.

After the incident Yurick was taken to Community Medical Center for treatment, according to the police report. He was released two hours later and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and attempted escape.

Mallon said that Yurick has pleaded guilty to reduced charges of resisting arrest in connection with the Jan. 27 incident, and also criminal mischief, in connection with a separate incident. He is scheduled to be sentenced in municipal court in Berkeley on Aug. 1, and is expected to be sentenced to a probational term, Mallon said.

Officer Stesner said he had to go to Community Medical Center for treatment of his own injuries, after being kicked by Yurick. He said he felt pain in his thigh, knee, neck and back, according to the police report.

Yurick denies assaulting Stesner and also denies attempting to escape, Mallon said. In addition to the excessive force charge, the lawsuit also accuses the township of providing inadequate training for its officers.

Contributing: Brett Bodner

Jean Mikle: (732) 643-4050, jmikle@app.com