| On October 27, 2007, police in Camden, New Jersey, arrested William Graham and charged him with drug possession after a traffic stop.
Graham remained in the county jail, unable to make bond. On June 8, 2008, he pled guilty in Camden County Superior Court to a single count of possession with intent to distribute. He received a sentence of three years in prison.
On March 19, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice began bringing indictments against five Camden officers, charging them with a wide range of crimes and civil-rights violations, including planting evidence, falsification of reports, perjury and theft. The indictments followed an investigation by the FBI into the department after the Camden County Office of the Public Defender asked the Camden police department’s Internal Affairs unit to examine complaints about officer misconduct more vigorously. In later litigation, plaintiffs alleged that the officers’ actions went undetected because of a breakdown in internal affairs, which was understaffed and used antiquated systems.
Three of the officers – Kevin Parry, Jason Stetser, and their supervisor, Dan Morris – pled guilty. The other two –Antonio Figueroa and Robert Bayard – went to trial. Figueroa was convicted; Bayard was acquitted.
Even before the first indictment against the officers, the Camden County Prosecutor had begun filing motions to vacate convictions and dismiss charges against defendants whose convictions were tainted by the apparent misconduct. Rather than waiting for individuals to come forward, the prosecutor’s office audited cases and then dismissed those that relied on the testimony or reports of the officers. As word of the dismissals spread, other potential victims of the officers’ misconduct came forward. Ultimately, judges threw out convictions and granted dismissals for more than 50 defendants.
A judge vacated Graham’s conviction and dismissed his charge on April 21, 2010, and he was released from prison.
Following the indictments, defendants began filing lawsuits against the city and the officers for violations of their civil rights. The lead lawsuit was filed on July 29, 2010 by the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Joel Barnes. It was eventually joined with lawsuits filed in state and federal court by Graham and 86 other persons, including several who were never convicted and had their charges dismissed after the misconduct by the officers was brought to light.
In his lawsuit, Graham said that his girlfriend and their two children were in the car when police stopped the vehicle and then conducted an illegal search. He said they found no contraband and then notified Stetser and Morris to come to the scene. Stetser and Morris signed an incident report that said Graham possessed 10.5 grams of cocaine, the lawsuit said. During the incident, social workers arrived and removed his children, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuits were settled on January 10, 2013, with the defendants sharing $3.5 million. Separately, 16 defendants also received compensation totaling $649,000 from the State of New Jersey for their wrongful convictions. Graham did not receive state compensation.
– Ken Otterbourg
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