SOUTH AMBOY — A city woman is seeking $2 million in damages from the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office and one of its officers she said assaulted her then falsely charged her with assaulting him.
Bridget Haymon, 38, filed suit earlier this month in U.S. District Court against Lawrence Madigan for allegedly attacking her when she attended a hearing at the Middlesex County Family Courthouse in New Brunswick in August.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office charged Madigan, 51, in November with filing a false police report, false swearing, simple assault and tampering with public records arising from the incident involving Haymon. Madigan, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was suspended without pay. All charges against Haymon were dropped.
The lawsuit says Haymon, who was at the courthouse on Aug. 1, 2012, left the courtroom when Madigan called her back. The suit said Madigan grabbed her arm “without a legitimate or legal reason or basis,” at which time Haymon tried to pull her arm away.
The complaint said Madigan “threw her to the ground, jumped on top of her, handcuffed her and arrested her.”
Madigan filed a report that said she assaulted him - a charge Madigan and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said was false.
Haymon has also included as defendants all of the sheriff’s officers, unnamed, who saw the incident.
Bryan Konoski, an attorney in New York who is representing Haymon, said the woman had never met Madigan and doesn’t know why he allegedly assaulted her.
“The officer just became aggressive with her for no reason,” Konoski said. “Then he doctored up the police reports to make it look like she assaulted him.”
The complaint said Haymon suffered multiple bodily injuries, including contusions, back pain and psychological injury as a result of the incident. Konoski said Haymon is currently receiving psychological therapy.
Haymon named the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office as a defendant because Madigan’s alleged actions occurred while he and the other officers were performing their official duties as security officers.
Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred Scott said she couldn’t comment on the case “because it is in litigation.”
Madigan could not be reached for comment.