The Lakewood Police Department is once again under fire — this time in federal court — over stunning allegations that officers manufactured drug accusations out of thin air, only for the entire case to collapse when the science didn’t back them up, FAA News has learned.
At the center of the storm: Patrolman Joseph Mandelbaum — now emerging as a repeat player in multiple lawsuits alleging false arrests and fabricated narratives.
In a newly filed federal civil rights lawsuit, Jaime Moncada claims he was arrested and prosecuted based on alleged drug impairment — despite every objective test coming back clean.
According to the complaint:
Mandelbaum claimed Moncada appeared impaired and smelled of marijuana
Moncada denied using any drugs or alcohol
A breathalyzer test returned 0.00
A full toxicology analysis later confirmed “No impairing drugs were confirmed”
And then the bombshell:
👉 All charges were dismissed, with no probable cause found for the arrest.
The lawsuit alleges this was no mistake — but an unconstitutional seizure and arrest carried out without evidence.
This isn’t Mandelbaum’s first time in the spotlight.
As previously reported here https://www.faanews.com/2025/09/lakewood-cop-already-facing-federal.html on FAA News, he is already being sued in state court by David Lantigua, who alleges an even more jaw-dropping scheme:
Multiple searches — including a body cavity search — turned up no drugs whatsoever
Officers then allegedly claimed Lantigua swallowed narcotics while handcuffed
Critical video evidence that supposedly proved this?
👉 Never produced
Lantigua’s lawsuit bluntly accuses officers of fabricating the “drug ingestion” story to justify an illegal arrest after finding nothing.
Now, with the Moncada federal case added to the mix, a disturbing pattern is emerging:
Case #1 (Lantigua): No drugs found → officers allegedly claim suspect swallowed them
Case #2 (Moncada): No drugs found → officer claims impairment anyway
In both cases:
👉 No physical evidence
👉 No scientific confirmation
👉 Charges collapse
Critics are beginning to ask the obvious question:
Is this coincidence — or a systemic problem?
The federal suit doesn’t stop at Mandelbaum. It names:
Lakewood Township
Police Chief Gregory Meyer
Additional officers
The complaint alleges failure to train and supervise officers, and claims the Township was aware of the risk of unconstitutional arrests but failed to act.
That raises the stakes dramatically — potentially exposing the Township to major civil liability under federal law.
Between the federal Moncada case and the state Lantigua case, the allegations paint a troubling picture:
Arrests based on subjective claims rather than evidence
Exculpatory evidence missing or never produced
Cases falling apart in court
Officers facing repeated civil rights lawsuits
And now, with Mandelbaum named in multiple actions, the focus is shifting from isolated incidents to potential patterns of conduct.
The federal lawsuit seeks damages for violations of Moncada’s constitutional rights, including unlawful seizure and arrest.
The Township has 21 days to respond to the complaint.
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