Meleika v. Bayonne Police Department

          OPINION

          HON. KEVIN MCNULTYA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

         This matter comes before the Court on the motion of the Bayonne Police Department and the City of Bayonne under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (ECF no. 12) The plaintiff, Steven Meleika, pro se, sues the Bayonne Police Department, the City of Bayonne, and the State of New Jersey for constitutional torts in connection with his arrest and prosecution. The claims against the State are dismissed on Eleventh Amendment/sovereign immunity grounds, and the claims against the Bayonne Police Department are dismissed because it is not an independent entity, but merely a department of City government. As to the remaining defendant, the City of Bayonne, the motion to dismiss the Complaint is granted without prejudice to the submission, within 45 days, of a proposed amended complaint that remedies the defects of the original.

         I. The Allegations of the Complaint

         The Complaint is brief, consisting of filled-in blanks on a standard pro se complaint form. The underlying factual allegations, in their entirety, are as follows:

         On 4-23-15 I was arrested and charged with a criminal offense. The case was dismissed entirely on 9-27-16, (Cplt. § III.C)

         The fullest statement of the claims asserted reads as follows:

Violation of civil rights

False arrest

False imprisonment

Malic[ious] prosecution

14 Amendment

4 Amendment Punitive damages

(Cplt. § V)

         I interpret these as federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of Mr. Meleika's Fourth Amendment rights in connection with his arrest and prosecution. The Complaint seeks $200, 000 in damages.

         II. The ...