By Rebecca Everett | For NJ.com

The police officer caught on camera punching a man 12 times in the head after stopping him on the street Feb. 22 will not be charged with a crime, authorities said.

Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson has called the video "disturbing," but the county Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that a review of video evidence showed Edward Minguela was pulling his arms away from Officer Nicholas Romantino as he tried to arrest him, and thus the blows were justified.

The decision doesn't just exonerate Romantino, it also means that the prosecutor's office will move forward on charges against Minguela of resisting arrest and obstruction, which had been stayed during the investigation.

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Minguela’s attorney has demanded the charges be dropped and Romantino be arrested.

"As a former police officer, I can state with absolute certainty that the officers used unlawful force against Edward Minguela," attorney Devon Jacob said in a statement Thursday. "The prosecutor’s decision, while unfortunate for the Camden community, was expected. When it takes two months for a prosecutor to decide that the same video evidence is sufficient to prosecute a citizen but not a police officer, the justice system has become corrupted."

He said he is prepared to sue the county for violating his client’s civil rights, not just by the beating but because an officer allegedly coerced Minguela into declining medical care in exchange for lesser charges.

Romantino, 24, who has been on the force for two years, has been suspended without pay since the video went public. Two other officers who were involved in the incident are on paid leave, the county said.

Minguela was leaving Fairview Liquors on Collings Road on the night of Feb. 22 when police ran up to him with guns drawn. Authorities said they were responding to a call about a man with a gun, and Minguela matched the description.

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The video from the liquor store, which Minguela obtained and shared with the media, shows Romantino grab him by the arm, take him to the ground and punch him 12 times in the head as he lays on the ground.

Minguela maintains that he never resisted, but the prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday that he tried to pull his arm out of Romantino’s grasp.

“Mr. Minguela pulled his arm away from the officer who then grabbed him from behind and took him to the ground,” the office said.

“After Mr. Minguela appears to pull his arm away from the officer’s grasp a second time, Officer Romantino struck Mr. Minguela nine times,” the office said. “The officer tried again to secure his arm and Mr. Minguela pulled away. Mr. Minguela was punched three more times before Officer Romantino handcuffed him.”

The prosecutor’s office said that the body cam video shows that Romantino was telling Minguela to put his arms behind his back while he was punching him in the head.

No gun was found in Minguela’s possession, but he was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and obstruction.

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He told NJ Advance Media that after he was arrested and taken to the hospital, an officer told him that if he asked for medical care, he would also be charged with assaulting a police officer, because an officer had hand injuries.

"His hand was swollen from punching me," Minguela said.

But he said he agreed to the terms and told the medical staff he didn’t need care. The next morning he went back to the hospital and was diagnosed with a fractured wrist and a concussion, his attorney said.

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Information from Officer Nicholas Romantino's use of force report about his arrest of Edward Minguela. (Provided by Camden County)

The prosecutor’s office did not comment on this part of Minguela’s story, focusing only on the use of force investigation. The office said investigators considered Minguela’s allegations but “Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo has concluded that the officers acted in accordance with the Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy in this matter.”

The Attorney General's policy says that officers should use "utmost restraint" when considering how much force to use.

"Law enforcement officers should exhaust all other reasonable means before resorting to the use of force," the policy says. "It is the policy of the State of New Jersey that law enforcement officers will use only that force which is objectively reasonable and necessary."

Romantino isn’t out of the woods, though, as the decision clears the way for the Camden County Police Department Internal Affairs Division to consider whether he or other officers involved in the incident violated departmental policy.

“Our agency is now moving to start its own internal investigation of this matter,” police spokesman Dan Keashen said Thursday.

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While denying an OPRA request for body camera video of the incident, the county revealed that the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey was looking into the case.

Jacob and local NAACP branches have called for a federal or state law enforcement agency to conduct the investigation, arguing that the fact that the prosecutor's office is charging Minguela with resisting arrest and obstruction is a conflict of interest.

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Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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