Arthur Lamondo, who is charged in the brutal slaying of Suzanne Bardzell, made his first appearance in Bergen County Superior Court on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. Watch video
HACKENSACK - A former New York City police officer charged in the brutal slaying of his former girlfriend pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges Thursday in Bergen County Superior Court.
Arthur Lomando, who entered Judge Susan J. Steele's courtroom in a wheelchair, was ordered held on $5 million full cash bail.
Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer urged Steele to set the high bail amount during the suspect's first court appearance.
Lomando, of Centereach, Long Island, is accused of attacking Suzanne Bardzell, 48, with a machete-like knife as she pulled into the driveway of her Godwin Avenue home on Oct. 22, 2015.
Investigators say he smashed the window of Bardzell's Volkswagen and stabbed her several times. Bardzell was a special education teacher in Teaneck and mother of two teenagers. She died at the scene of the attack, her vehicle engine still running.
After the killing, Lomando jumped or fell in front of a subway train in Manhattan. He suffered severe injuries to his lower body and his head. Doctors amputated his limbs in an effort to save his life.
Lamonda has since filed a notice of intent to sue New York City over his injuries.
In court on Thursday, an apparent surgical scar was visible on the right side of his head.
Lamondo spent several months in a jail infirmary in Riker's Island before being moved to the Bergen County Jail several weeks ago.
Defense attorney Anthony M. LaPinta of Hauppauge, N.Y., asked Judge Steele to address "real troubling allegations of mistreatment" his client has had while in the custody of the Bergen County Jail.
"He has had no medication while at the jail," LaPinta told the judge. "We question the jail's ability to maintain him and submit that he is need of urgent care."
Lamondo's civil attorney, Andrew F. Plasse, said Lomando has filed grievances while in the Bergen County facility, alleging among other things, that his wheelchair has been taken away and that he's been forced to sit in an office chair while in his cell.
Steele told the attorney to bring his concerns to the jail warden before the matter can be considered in court.
Midland Park police officers, along with more than a dozen relatives and family members of the victim, sat quietly in the courtroom during Thursday's hearing.
Investigators have said there was history of domestic violence between Lomando and Bardzell and that the teacher was seeking a permanent restraining order when she was killed.
Lamondo, a 10-year veteran of the NYPD, was fired in 2004 after several documented misconduct issues and mental health concerns, according to reports.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.