A Black mother who brought tampons to her daughter’s New Jersey high school says a police officer repeatedly placed her in chokeholds after school personnel refused the delivery and she asked to take her daughter home.
Nadia Baxter alleges that Monroe Township police officer Michael J. Marsh Jr. escalated a verbal disagreement in Williamstown High School’s front lobby into a violent confrontation on Oct. 11, 2024.
Both Baxter and her daughter were arrested, and the daughter was suspended for approximately seven weeks, according to Baxter’s federal lawsuit.
The complaint, filed Oct. 8 in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, accuses Marsh of excessive force, malicious prosecution and fabrication of evidence. It also alleges failures by school personnel, police supervisors and the institutions responsible for their conduct.
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“What began when a mother came to school with urgently needed menstrual-hygiene products for her daughter escalated into a violent physical encounter captured by the school’s surveillance camera,” the complaint states.
“The surveillance video shows Marsh initiate the physical contact,” it alleges.
The lawsuit says Marsh first grabbed Baxter’s arm, then placed his hand around her neck or throat and pushed her backward into lobby chairs.
“Marsh thereafter repeatedly placed Ms. Baxter in chokeholds, including wrapping his arm around her neck, lifting her from the chairs, taking her to the floor, and again placing her in a chokehold while she was on the ground,” the complaint states.
An Internal Affairs investigation exonerated Marsh in April 2025, according to the lawsuit. He was later named the department’s officer of the month in March, NJ.com reported
Atlanta Black Star has requested the surveillance footage from Baxter’s attorneys.
A Dispute Over a Parent Drop-Off
According to the complaint, the school’s handbook asked parents to avoid dropping off food and other items during the school day but designated a cabinet outside the main entrance for those drop-offs. A separate provision prohibited outside deliveries and warned that staff would turn them away.
“Ms. Baxter was not attempting to deliver food, a forgotten assignment, or a convenience item,” the complaint states. “She came to provide her daughter with urgently needed menstrual-hygiene products.”
When staff refused the delivery, Baxter decided to take her daughter home for the remainder of the day, the lawsuit says.
As her daughter approached the lobby from inside the school, Marsh allegedly shut the door, preventing Baxter from entering and causing her to move quickly to avoid being struck. Baxter gestured for her daughter to come out and questioned why Marsh was blocking her.
“At most, Marsh was confronted with a civilian who was upset, verbally challenging him, and using words later characterized as derogatory,” the complaint states.
“Nothing depicted on the surveillance video before Marsh initiated force shows Ms. Baxter threatening Marsh with physical harm or engaging in physically threatening conduct.”
Marsh then allegedly approached Baxter, stood close to her and pointed in her face. She pointed back at him without touching him, according to the suit, which alleges he initiated physical contact moments later.
The complaint also accuses Principal Angelo DeStefano and other personnel of failing to intervene during the continuing encounter. It alleges that DeStefano grabbed or pulled Baxter’s daughter and that a guidance counselor physically restrained her on the ground while Marsh restrained Baxter.
Seven-Week Suspension
Baxter was charged with simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. On Feb. 25, 2026, prosecutors dismissed the assault and resisting-arrest charges and amended the disorderly-conduct charge to a municipal nuisance violation. Baxter pleaded guilty to that ordinance violation.
The lawsuit says she reluctantly accepted the resolution because she feared the criminal charges could jeopardize her employment working with vulnerable youth and adults with developmental disabilities. It emphasizes that she did not admit assaulting Marsh.
Her daughter was also arrested, but the complaint does not identify her charges or explain how her case ended.
The school suspended the daughter for allegedly “assaulting staff members.” According to Baxter, the school board reviewed surveillance footage on Nov. 14, 2024, and decided to allow her to return later.
She returned Dec. 2 under a “Success Contract,” administrative probation and restrictions on school activities, the complaint says.
The board’s decision did not amount to an explicit finding in the complaint that she had been cleared of wrongdoing.
Police Exonerated the Officer
The lawsuit disputes Marsh’s claim that Baxter struck him with her hand or bag and alleges that surveillance footage contradicts his portrayal of her as the person who initiated the physical confrontation.
“Objective surveillance video materially contradicts the portrayal of Plaintiff as the person who initiated the physical confrontation,” the complaint states.
The suit also alleges that Marsh never activated his body camera and reported his force only as a “Take Down,” without selecting the available “Chokehold” or “Carotid Artery Restraint” categories.
On the day of the arrests, police said Marsh had “received injuries to his face and hands” and said the department had “zero tolerance for this type of behavior in our schools, including parents and juveniles,” according to NJ.com.
Responding to the lawsuit, police Capt. Kevin Bielski told The Inquirer that the department typically does not comment on ongoing litigation but defended Marsh’s standing in the community.
“His reputation with the parents, students, and staff speaks for itself,” Bielski wrote.
Baxter’s attorney, Lara DiFabrizio, told the newspaper that Baxter’s daughter is now a college sophomore earning straight A’s.
Baxter seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages against individual defendants where permitted, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial. Her complaint says the department’s Internal Affairs disposition identified no corrective action following the encounter.
“Nor did the disposition identify any remedial training, counseling, correction of Marsh’s force reporting, discipline, policy change, or other corrective action,” the lawsuit states.
