BRIDGETON -- A city man claims in a civil rights lawsuit that police officers trumped up criminal charges against him, caused him to be wrongfully arrested and the city allowed it to happen.

Bridgeton police arrested 28-year-old Raheem Jacobs on Feb. 6, 2015 for weapons charges, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest and criminal mischief. According to Jacobs' lawsuit, he was falsely arrested and imprisoned -- targeted by officers Roger Worley and Raheem Diggs -- and the police department has a history or wrongly arresting people and illegal conduct.

Raheem Jacobs (Submitted photo)Don E. Woods | For NJ.com 

The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court names Bridgeton, Worley, Diggs and unidentified police officers.

Jacobs, who was sentenced in 2016 to 11 years in state prison for a handgun charge from 2014, said in the lawsuit that the charges from the 2015 arrest were later dropped or he was acquitted. 

"There is a history of Bridgeton Police Officers engaging in illegal conduct and falsely accusing civilians of criminal activities, without probable cause," the lawsuit states.

He claims he was wrongfully incarcerated and he experienced "loss earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish and other damages."

Jacobs claims the city should also be held responsible because it was aware that Worley and Diggs were "harassing and arresting citizens, without probable cause, or any legitimate reason," the lawsuit states.

Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari declined to comment on the lawsuit due to it being pending litigation.

Worley retired from the Bridgeton Police Department on April 1. The former officer was also involved in the December 2014 fatal police-involved shooting of Jerame Reid.

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The lawsuit requests a trial by jury and damages exceeding $150,000.

In addition to the recent lawsuit, Jacobs filed a lawsuit against the Cumberland County Jail in March 2016 claiming that corrections officers assaulted him on FeB. 25, 2015, while he was being held there for the weapons charges referenced in this case.

Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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