PATERSON — In a narrow city apartment building, with at least one police officer looking on, a Paterson father engaged in a loud, profanity-laced cellphone conversation, expressing his anger and frustration over not being allowed to see his young children. For more than two minutes, the officer — whose name has not been made public — stayed away from the agitated man, seemingly employing de-escalation techniques that are supposed to prevent physical confrontations between cops and citizens. But in a matter of moments, the tense situation erupted in violence — a scuffle seemingly initiated by another police officer at the scene who hit the father and later kneed the man in the face while he was sitting on the floor of the hallway with his wrists handcuffed behind his back, the video shows. Mayor Andre Sayegh on Wednesday night made public the video that was recorded by the body camera of the officer who tried to calm the angry father in the May 26 confrontation. About two weeks after the incident, authorities arrested the other cop, 44-year-old Spencer Finch, an 18-year veteran of the Paterson Police Department, and charged him with assault, official misconduct and trying to conceal his actions by filing a false police report. The mayor said he decided to release the video after conferring with his municipal law director, Aymen Aboushi, an attorney who prior to taking the city job had filed in his private practice five federal civil rights lawsuits accusing Paterson police officers of using excessive force against the public. “That’s why we pushed for body cameras, so people could see for themselves what happened,” Sayegh said on Thursday morning of his decision to release the video. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, who filed the criminal charges against Finch, did not respond to two messages from a reporter asking if she supported Sayegh’s release of the video. Footage:Body camera video shows alleged assault that led to Paterson cop's arrest Criticism, praise surround excessive force lawsuit Diego Navas, a lawyer representing a Paterson man in a police excessive force lawsuit against the city, praised the decision. “I am glad to see the administration releasing the video and trying to be transparent but it is obvious this department has some deep-rooted problems,” Navas said. “They have to reconsider who they are recruiting as officers and how they are being trained if they ever want to turn this department around.” The video-recorded beating of Navas’ client prompted the United States Attorney’s Office to file criminal charges against those cops — Kevin Patino and Kendry Tineo. Finch’s lawyer, Anthony J. Iacullo, has asserted his client’s actions were “appropriate.” When asked by a reporter for further explanation, Iacullo said, “It is not my practice to comment on the specific allegations or potential evidence that may or may not be introduced at the time of trial.” “To do so,” Iacullo added, “would be an improper attempt to prejudice those individuals who may be called upon to serve on a jury regarding this very case. I feel this case is best left to be commented upon in the courtroom, not the press." The leaders of Paterson police unions declined to comment on the Finch video. But local Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas called the events captured on the video “disgusting but not surprising.” “People in Paterson have been beaten by police officers using excessive force for years,” Thomas said. “What we’re seeing in that video — while it’s horrific — it’s nothing new.” Thomas said city officials have tried to explain away other police brutality cases — like the seven Paterson cops convicted in recent years by the FBI — by citing the lack of law enforcement experience of the culprits. But Finch has been on the force for almost two decades, the activist said. “This shows that this type of behavior is part of the culture in the Paterson police depar(continued)