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Sunday, feb 16
Tag:
Police Misconduct
News
Stroke Victim Awarded $10.8M After NJ State Trooper Alleged DUI On Route 78
A New Jersey woman who sued the State Police after they allegedly mistook her stroke for drug use, handcuffed her, and delayed lifesaving care has been awarded $10.8 million, a court order shows. A jury initially awarded Cheryl Rhines, of Jersey City, a total of $19.1 million in damages on Jan. 29, after finding that NJ State Trooper Jennifer M. Albuja was 60% responsible for Rhines’ injuries, according to a ruling from Essex County Superior Court Judge Thomas Vena. However, following a motion from attorneys representing the State of New Jersey, NJ State Police, and Trooper Albuja, the cour…
News
These 33 Monmouth County PDs Wasted $1M On 'Street Cop' Training, Comptroller Says
A new report by New Jersey's Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) reveals that 377 New Jersey police departments and law enforcement agencies collectively spent over $1 million in public funds on training hosted by Street Cop Training, a company previously criticized for teaching discriminatory and likely unconstitutional tactics. The findings, published in a supplemental report by the OSC, follow its December 2023 Police Accountability Project report, which exposed troubling content from Street Cop Training’s 2021 conference. Nearly 1,000 officers, including many from New Jersey, attended …
Police & Fire
Former Middletown Police Sgt. David Ringkamp Indicted
A former Middletown police sergeant was given 22 criminal charges after an investigation revealed a web of illegal activity involving untraceable guns, drugs, and abuse of power, authorities said. David Ringkamp, 43, was indicted by a grand jury, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Thursday, Dec. 19. Ringkamp was formerly a Union Beach resident. The investigation into Ringkamp began in December 2021. New York State Police identified Nicholas D’Ambrosio of Millstone as someone purchasing kits to assemble ghost guns, which are illegal in New Jersey.…
News
'Unconstitutional:' Feds Slam Trenton Police For Excessive Force, Illegal Stops
Federal investigators have accused the Trenton Police Department (TPD) of widespread civil rights violations, including excessive force and illegal arrests, calling the department’s practices “unconstitutional” in a damning report released Thursday, Nov. 21. The Department of Justice (DOJ) found that TPD officers routinely stopped and searched individuals without reasonable suspicion, made arrests without probable cause, and escalated encounters with excessive force. These practices, compounded by poor training, inadequate oversight, and a lack of accountability, have eroded community…
News
NJ State Trooper Admits Punching Handcuffed Woman After She Spits At Troopers, Loses Job: AG
A New Jersey State Police trooper from Gloucester County has admitted punching a woman in the face with a metal flashlight in his hand while the victim was handcuffed in the backseat of a patrol vehicle, authorities said. The incident occurred after the drunken woman spat toward troopers following a trespassing complaint, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin Trooper Nicolas J. Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, pleaded guilty on Thursday, July 25 in Cumberland County to aggravated assault, Platkin said. Hogan entered into a consent order banning him for life from holding public offi…
Police & Fire
NJ Police Officers Cleared Of Misconduct In Civil Suit That 'Cost Taxpayers Thousands'
A lawsuit that allegedly cost taxpayers thousands was dismissed against an Atlantic County police department accused of misconduct during a domestic violence arrest, authorities said. A jury ruled in favor of three police officers with the Egg Harbor Township Police Department on Wednesday, Feb. 14, according to court documents and a police department news release. The civil suit was dismissed by the jury on Thursday, Feb. 15. Officers Nathan Lahr, Patrick Daly, and Katrina Cantell responded to a domestic violence report at a home on Primrose Circle on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, …
Police & Fire
Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida Retires
The head of a Jersey Shore police department will step down about three months after a heated interaction between him and one of his sergeants during a crash investigation, officials said. Bradley Beach police Chief Leonard Guida will retire on Friday, Mar. 1, according to a Monday, Feb. 26 statement from Mayor Larry Fox. The mayor said Chief Guida's retirement was six months earlier than the borough anticipated. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigated the exchange between Chief Guida and Sgt. William Major, which happened on Thursday, Nov. 9. At a council meetin…
Police & Fire
Bradley Beach Police Chief Guida Center Of Investigation
A heated interaction between the chief and sergeant of a Jersey Shore police department in November 2023 has become the center of an investigation, Daily Voice has learned. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday, Feb. 21 that it's investigated the exchange between Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida and Sgt. William Major, which transpired on Thursday, Nov. 9. Public information officer Mark Spivey confirmed the investigation to the Daily Voice in an emailed statement. Bradley Beach (NJ) police Chief Leonard Guida. Facebook - Bradley Beach Police …
Police & Fire
'Skip-Scanning' Monmouth County Officer Shoplifted While In Uniform: Prosecutor
A Middletown police officer is accused of stealing from several discount stores, authorities said. Brenden Santiago, 36, of Tinton Falls, was charged with third-degree shoplifting and fourth-degree attempted shoplifting on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced the charges on Thursday, Jan. 25. Online records show Santiago earns upwards of $100,000 a year. Prosecutors said Santiago "skip-scanned" items from a discount department store chain six times in December 2023. "Skip-scanning" is when someone scans cheaper items instead of more expensive ones or pret…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Officer Who Looked Up People He Knew On Police Database Suspended, Prosecutor Says
A Brielle police officer is accused of illegally using police databases to look up people he knew, authorities said. Brian Dreher, 37, of Brick Township, is charged with third-degree computer theft, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced on Friday, Jan. 12. Dreher faces up to five years in state prison If he's convicted. “Any transgression of this nature by an officer is unacceptable,” Santiago said in a news release. “While this officer’s action is not indicative of the majority of our police officers across Monmouth County, we must continue to hold our officers r…
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Investigation Underway Into Alleged Improprieties At Bergen Police Academy (
Update
)
In his first extended public comment since claims of misconduct at the local police academy were revealed by Daily Voice last month, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella confirmed that an investigation by his office is underway. “We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, and we immediately began an investigation” into the allegations at the Bergen County Police Academy in Mahwah after being notified of the alleged improprieties. All of the academy’s instructors except one were relieved of their duties by the New Jersey Police Training Commission (PTC) amid the accusations, Daily Voi…
Police & Fire
Update
: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran
"Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouts several times as he chases a fleeing man down a city street. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Khalif Cooper falls face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffs Cooper, 28, who is heard on a bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." A grand jury agreed. Moravek was indicted in Trenton on criminal charges this week for shooting the unarmed Cooper, who was left paralyzed, in June 2022, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced on Thursday, Dec. 7. “Deadly force against a fleeing suspect must be u…
Police & Fire
Man Struck, Killed By Police Car On South Jersey Highway: NJ AG
A man was struck and killed by a police car in South Jersey before dawn on Thanksgiving, authorities said. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin's office initially withheld the names of the victim and of the officer driving the vehicle following the crash on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) near Whispering Pine Drive in the Atco section of Camden County's Waterford Township at 2:19 a.m. Nov. 23. State law and his own guidelines require the attorney general to review any and all deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capac…
Police & Fire
'Improper, Unlawful': Trooper Punched Handcuffed Drunk Woman In Face, NJ Attorney General Says
A New Jersey State Police trooper was charged with punching a handcuffed woman in the face as she sat in the back of a cruiser awaiting a medical evaluation. Nicolas J. Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, was among a group of troopers who responded to a report of a trespasser at a home in Cumberland County’s Upper Deerfield Township around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022. Two troopers found the victim walking in the middle of the road drunk. She needed a medical evaluation, so the troopers kept her detained -- but not under arrest -- and called for a medical unit, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platk…
Police & Fire
Feds Probe Trenton Police For Excessive Force, Unlawful Searches
The Trenton Police Department and the City of Trenton are under federal investigation for a pattern of excessive force and unlawful stops and searches, authorities said. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in Washington and U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger made the announcement on Tuesday, Oct. 17. The investigation seeks to determine if there are systemic violations of the Constitution and federal law by Trenton police, they said. The probe will include a comprehensive review of TPD policies, training and s…
Police & Fire
'Want To Feel Pain?': NJ Cop Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver 2X Pleads Guilty, Feds Say
A South Jersey police officer admitted in federal court to using excessive force when he twice pepper-sprayed a drunken but cooperative driver while handcuffed in 2017, authorities announced. John Grier III, 51, of Cedarville — who was indicted in 2021 — pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden in federal court on Thursday, Oct. 5, to a superseding information charging him with one count of violating an individual’s civil rights, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A sworn Bridgeton police officer since 2004, Grier's admission is in connection with an…
Police & Fire
Summer Shootings In Paterson Plummet Amid NJ Police Takeover
Facts don't lie. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin promised a reduction in crime in Paterson following the second-ever state takeover of a local police department in New Jersey's history. So far, he's delivering. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day -- a time when America's cities ordinarily suffer the most violence -- shootings in the Silk City plummeted by 41.2% compared with the same period last year, state officials reported. In that time, Paterson has also had the fewest summer shooting victims in five years, they said. Reported robberies decreased by nearly 38%. Aggravated assault…
Police & Fire
NJ Correctional Officer Indicted In Beating Of Resident Who Died
A correctional police officer at New Jersey’s maximum-security facility for sex offenders was indicted for his role in the beating of a resident who died days later of a stroke. Giuseppe "Joey: Mandara, 54, of Brick Township “abandoned his equipment, including keys and radio, and thereafter used excessive or unlawful force” on Darrell Smith at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Middlesex County, the indictment says. A grand jury in Trenton returned the indictment charging Mandara with misconduct last week, according to a statement issued by state Attorney General Matthew J. Platki…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Police Officer Had 100 Child Pornography Images: Prosecutor
A 57-year-old police officer from Brick Township has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said. John Kisch was arrested on Tuesday, June 13, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. The investigation was the result of a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The ICAC Task Force received cyber-tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual was uploading images of child pornography to the internet, Billhimer said. An investigation by the Ocean County…
Police & Fire
Suspended NJ Police Chief Indicted As Sexual Predator, New Charges Added: State AG
A local New Jersey police chief who’d already been charged with sexually preying on women is facing new allegations, the state’s top cop announced on Tuesday. Following his suspension amid sexual assault allegations, Manville Police Chief Thomas Herbst wrongfully held onto his badge, then displayed it as if was still on active duty to a police officer who’d pulled him over late this past January, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. The charge was contained in an eight-count indictment returned by a state grand jury that focused mostly on what the attorney general called “sexually pred…
Police & Fire
Bombshell
: NJ Jail Officers Charged With Manslaughter In Inmate's Death, Local Police Involved
UPDATE: What began as the investigation of three correctional officers following the death of a New Jersey inmate took a dramatic turn with manslaughter charges filed against two of them and new counts brought against five police officers who dropped him off at their jail. A state grand jury in Trenton charged Atlantic County Correctional Sgt. Eric Tornblom and Correctional Officer Mark Jenigen with manslaughter in the September 2019 death of Mario Terruso, 41, of Mays Landing, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. The grand jury also returned charges against five Hamilton T…
News
Wrong Home: Police Raided NJ Family's Home At Gunpoint In Address Mixup, Suit Says
A family has filed a lawsuit against the Bloomfield Township after its police officers apparently wrongfully raided their home at gunpoint in response to reports of a murder suicide. Authorities eventually realized they had the wrong address, the lawsuit reads. The suit was filed by Emmanuel Martinez, Solamyra Criado and their child last month in Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County. They are seeking unspecified damages. Police broke down the family's door around 7 a.m. on March 29, 2021, entering the home with their guns drawn and pointed at the family, according to the lawsuit…
News
Betrayer
OF THE
Badge
: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex
UPDATE: A Vernon Township police officer who was accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic violence call admitted abusing his authority on duty to force women to submit to his sexual advances. Emanuel Rivera, 38, acknowledged the “imbalance of power” between him and the women he was hitting on, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint statement. This left them unable to consent, he admitted, because of the “coercive, intimidating nature of such requests” coming from a uniformed police officer," the s…
News
Update
: Paterson Officer Charged By State Authorities For Shooting Fleeing Man In Back
"Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouted several times as he chased a fleeing man down a city street before dawn this past June. Suddenly, two shots rang out and unarmed 28-year-old Khalif Cooper fell face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffed Cooper, who is heard on police bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." He didn't have one, said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in announcing on Monday, Feb. 6 that his office had charged Moravek with aggravated assault and official misconduct. Moravek, 40, violated the state's …
News
Disgraced Ex-Paterson Officer Charged With Assault Of Second Defenseless Suspect
A former Paterson police officer already awaiting trial for beating one suspect over the head with a flashlight has been charged with doing it to another. Spencer Finch, 46, of Mahwah, broke a victim’s nose, knocked out two of his teeth and chipped another outside a Quick’s Food Store on Dec. 22, 2018, an indictment returned by a grand jury in Paterson alleges. In a subsequent use-of-force report, Finch said he was arresting the robbery suspect when he “became belligerent with police and shouted profanities,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in announcing the indictment on W…
News
Former Jersey Shore Officer Sentenced For Attempted Sexual Assault Of Unconscious Woman
A former Keansburg police officer was sentenced to four years in New Jersey State Prison for the attempted sexual assault of an unconscious woman, authorities said. Nicholas R. Thompson, 26, also must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and be under parole supervision for life, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. And he's banned from holding a public job. Thompson was an off-duty Class II special officer when he tried to assault the woman at a private home in January 2021, authorities said. Thompson’s plea agreement was reached in May, after consultat…
Police & Fire
Police Sergeant Stole $75K From Jersey Shore PBA: Prosecutor
A Wall Township Police Department sergeant has been charged with stealing more than $75,000 from his local Police Benevolent Association, authorities said, James R. Cadigan, 40, was charged with theft by unlawful taking, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago. An investigation into this matter was initiated by the MCPO Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Bureau, upon receipt of a referral by the Wall Township PBA Local No. 234, which had discovered that a significant amount of cash proceeds was missing following an annual fundr…
Police & Fire
$2.3M Settlement Reached In Crash With DWI Off-Duty Central Jersey Officer: Report
A Central Jersey man who nearly died after a drunken off-duty police officer plowed into his car has reached a $2.25 million settlement, NJ Advance Media reports. Amadeo Sosa, then 56, of Perth Amboy was sitting in his car behind a disabled dump truck on the side of Route 9 in Old Bridge on Dec. 18, 2018, when then Sayreville Police Sgt. Jeffrey P. Kutz slammed into his vehicle, the outlet said. Sosa suffered a broken back after becoming pinned. “If you look at the photos in this case, it’s just a flat out miracle that he didn’t die,” Sosa’s attorney, Nicholas Leonardis of Stathis…
News
Saddle Brook Police Chief Eyes Reinstatement, Restitution After Judge Stops Funeral Escort Case
Suspended Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler is seeking reinstatement, and restitution, following a judge's ruling that he was wrongly being prosecuted for assigning police escorts to processions from his family-owned funeral home. And despite having waited 18 months for vindication, Kugler isn’t angry. “I’ve turned the page,” he told Daily Voice. “I’m moving forward and expect to proudly return to be chief of police once again and serve my community and the general public. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” State authorities wrongly applied a borough ordinance meant to keep police …
Police & Fire
$1.4M Paid To Suspended NJ Officers Awaiting Trial For No-Show Extra Duty Jobs: Report
Four suspended police officers from Edison were paid $1.4 million during the two years they awaited trial for billing the town for no-show "extra duty" assignments, NJ Advance Media reports. The officers have been on paid suspension ever since, but were put on unpaid leave earlier this month when new indictments were announced against Sgt. Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 43, of Edison Township, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 36, of Jackson Township, Patrolman Gregory Makras, 38, of Cranford and Sgt. Brian Rossmeyer, 45, of Bridgewater, according to the outlet and Middlesex County Pr…
Police & Fire
4 NJ Police Officers Indicted For Bilking Town For No-Show 'Extra Duty' Assignments: Prosecutor
Four suspended police officers from Central Jersey bilked their town for no-show "extra duty" assignments, authorities said. The Edison Police officers were charged with racketeering, bribery, theft, money laundering and witness tampering, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department said on Friday, Oct. 14. They did not say how much taxpayer money was stolen by the former officers. Sergeant Ioannis (John) Mpletsakis, 43, of Edison Township, Patrolman James Panagoulakos, 36, of Jackson Township, Patrolman Gregory&nbs…
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