The Alternative Press

PATERSON, NJ - Jonathan Lopez, one of two auxiliary police officers charged with official misconduct in the April death of a motorcyclist, will get $26,652 to settle an unrelated workers compensation case.

The payment was one of three workers compensation settlements approved by the City Council on Tuesday.

Lopez sustained shoulder and back injuries in May 2009 in a motor vehicle accident, according to the council resolution. Lopez' vehicle was struck by another driver who failed to observe a traffic signal, the resolution said.

Lopez and another auxiliary officer, Juan Martinez, were charged in the death of Randolph Waddy earlier this year. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office has said the two auxiliary officers were following Waddy in an Office of Emergency Management (OEM) van and had activated their siren in an attempt to get him to stop, a violation of city policies. The prosecutor's office also has accused them of not stopping to help Waddy after they witnessed his crash and of not reporting the incident to their supervisors.

Authorities have said Martinez was driving and Lopez was in the passenger's seat.

Waddy's family has asserted that the OEM van hit him from behind during the chase, but authorities have not confirmed that version of the crash.

The city suspended the operations of its auxiliary police force as a result of the incident.

Here are the details of the other two workers compensation settlements approved by the council:

Fire Captain Arthur Reda will get $36,889 from a back injury he suffered when he tripped over a pallet on Oct. 19, 2009.

Police Officer David Riviello will get $23,442 for injuries to his shoulder, right hand and arm he sustained when he fell down the stairs at police headquarters on Sept. 16, 2010.