Two Passaic County jail officers charged with alleged assault in 2021

Two Passaic County correctional officers were indicted Monday by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from an alleged assault on a pretrial inmate in 2021, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Jose Gonzalez, 45, and Donald Vinales, 38, were charged with violating the civil rights of a pretrial detainee and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

On January 21, 2021, a Passaic County Jail inmate sprayed “a urine-containing mixture” on a police officer, the indictment states.

The next day, Gonzalez and Vinales, along with other police officers, took the inmate to a so-called “blind spot,” an area of ​​the county jail where there were no video surveillance cameras. According to the district attorney's indictment, they assaulted the inmate by throwing him to the ground and continuing to beat him while he was handcuffed.

The arrested man was taken to a local hospital the next day for injuries he sustained in the attack, officials said.

The police officers never provided documentation of their use of force, although they were obliged to submit a corresponding report, the Attorney General explained.

In connection with the investigation into the attack, the defendants were served with federal grand jury subpoenas in April 2022.

Gonzalez, Vinales and other officials met and agreed not to cooperate with the federal investigation and to deny the attack, the indictment says.