By Brian Fraga Standard-Times staff writer September 21, 2007 6:00 AM NEW BEDFORD — A city man has filed a civil rights complaint with the state Attorney General's Office alleging several undercover New Bedford police officers assaulted him without warning last month as he was driving in the North End. Rafael Jones, 26, of 518 Rivet St., said he was driving near the Car Barn on Aug. 23 looking for a 1987 Ford Mustang that was advertised for sale when two unmarked police cruisers pulled in front of him. Mr. Jones said about a dozen police officers surrounded him, grabbed his arms and pulled him from his 1994 Mercedes four-door sedan. He claims they grabbed his jaw and forced his mouth open and asked him where he was hiding drugs. After "aggressively" interrogating him for 20 minutes and searching his car from top to bottom, the officers let him go without arresting him, Mr. Jones said. "It was completely unexpected," he said. "I didn't do anything wrong. They had no right to do what they did." Mr. Jones, who is unemployed and collects disability, also filed a complaint with the city Police Department. He received a letter dated Aug. 24 from the department's Professional Standards Unit telling him it would look into the matter. New Bedford police spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Silva said it is departmental policy not to comment on internal complaints that could end up in litigation. He said the department cannot even confirm whether a complaint has been lodged. "We try to provide as professional and efficient a police service to the community as possible," Lt. Silva said. "Occasionally, there are times when people feel the need to criticize that service, whether it be with suggestions, telephone calls or formal, written complaints. "All complaints are taken seriously." A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office also said the office does not comment on individual civil-rights complaints. Mr. Jones provided a reporter with a medical form from St. Luke's Hospital indicating he was treated for a bruised jaw Aug. 24, the day after the alleged incident with police. Mr. Jones said he remains angry with the police. He claimed some officers laughed at him and told him to "shut up" when he asked for their badge numbers. "There was no reason for them to do something like that," Mr. Jones said. "They were doing anything they wanted to, like they were the FBI or something."
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