The man claimed he was sent two additional summonses after attempting to meet with Mantua Police chief to discuss officer conduct.
MANTUA -- Mantua Township has paid a man $25,000 to settle his claim that police officers retaliated against him by charging him with drunken driving only after he tried to complain about the cops' behavior.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court on July 2, 2015, Edward Habayeb -- who was born in Palestine but is a U.S. citizen living in Mantua Township -- claims he was charged with driving under the influence four days after a traffic stop and only after he requested a meeting with the police chief.
Habayeb said in court papers that he was pulled over on July 5, 2013 after crossing the center line to avoid hitting a trashcan in the middle of the road.
He claimed one of the officers, Corporal Shaun Butler, was acting suspicious of Habayeb, insulting him, saying "he just smells bad" and was "broken out in a full sweat."
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Butler allegedly had Officer Krista Shields give Habayeb a field sobriety test -- and "no one had ever shown her how to conduct such a test," according to the lawsuit. Shields referred to her notebook and asked other officers for assistance during the tests, Habayeb claimed.
According to the lawsuit, Habayeb also completed an Alcotest at the police station that showed no trace of alcohol in his sytem. He was given two citations that day -- one for failure to maintain a lane and the other for improper signaling.
Three days later, Habayeb set up a meeting with Mantua Police Chief Rodney Sawyer to discuss the officers' conduct. Sawyer cancelled the meeting, and according to Habayeb, the next day Shields sent him two additional summons in the mail, one for reckless driving and one for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
According to the lawsuit, both of the additional summonses were dismissed by the municipal prosecutor, however, Habayeb claims that these summonses were only issued to retaliate against him for attempting to meet with Sawyer.
None of lawsuit's allegations has been proven or disproven in court, but Mantua or its insurer, decided that to pay Habayeb $25,000 instead of taking the matter to trial, according to court documents.
Chief Sawyer did not immediately respond for comment.
Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.