A Black man was sitting in his car when a New Jersey police officer allegedly assaulted him. The cop maintained that he acted after the man tried to attack him. Matters escalated when the officer failed to submit bodycam footage when asked by a judge.
Carlton Brathwaite and his brother Derek were sitting in a car when they were approached by law enforcement officers. The men had been discussing what to do with their elderly stepfather after he had been left alone after their mother’s death.
Edison Police Department Officer Matthew Talavera is now being accused of brutalizing Carlton during the encounter.
N.J. police officer named in $5M excessive-force lawsuit resigns https://t.co/zHTl3VS3xm Edison cop named in a federal lawsuit over the brutal beating of a Black resident two years ago has resigned. Matthew Talavera resigned after a lawsuit filed by Carlton R. Brathwaite
— Tommy Richards Spiritually Smart (IAMConfirmed) (@tlthe5th) December 9, 2025
As the cop failed to produce bodycam footage to support his claim, the judge said the arrest did not pass the “smell test,” and dismissed the case.
Brathwaite, who was being accused of assaulting the officer, then filed a lawsuit. Officer Talavera opposed the lawsuit by claiming that qualified immunity should protect him from the allegations. His appeal was later rejected.
Talavera has reportedly resigned from his position at the Edison Police Department. A report from NJ.com notes that the reason behind the resignation has not been made public yet.
The lawsuit filed by Carlton R. Brathwaite is seeking $5 million in damages. In the lawsuit, the man claims that Talavera and “unknown township officers” struck him, held him to the ground, and beat him brutally on October 6, 2023.
The lawsuit reveals that the incident unfolded at around 1 a.m. on Redwood Avenue. Brathwaite alleges that he was assaulted by the team of officers and then falsely accused and arrested for a crime he did not commit.
According to the lawsuit, the man was charged with obstructing the administration of law, disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest.
NJ cop Matthew Talavera resigns after a judge blocked his “qualified immunity” defense in a $5M brutality suit. He’s accused of fracturing a man’s skull and “losing” the bodycam footage. The judge called the arrest a failure. 🚔⚖️ #PoliceAccountability #EdisonNJ pic.twitter.com/3XNgGH0pfu
— MetroScroll (@MetroScrol) December 26, 2025
Judge Colleen M. Flynn dismissed the charges because of the refusal of the officers to submit bodycam footage to prove that the arrest had been legal. Brathwaite claims that he suffered from facial scarring, headaches, emotional distress, anxiety, depression, humiliation, and fear in the lawsuit that he filed.
The encounter with the officers left him with a laceration to his head. The injury was treated while he received surgical staples. Even after getting treated, Brathwaite allegedly continued suffering from pain.
“The defendants, the Township of Edison and Edison Township Police Department, have failed to take steps to discipline, train, supervise, or otherwise correct the improper, unconstitutional, and illegal conduct of the defendant police officers,” the lawsuit that Brathwaite filed claims.
