Fair 68°
News
Indictment: NJSP Trooper Put Female Motorist In Fear By Stopping Her Twice, Following Her Home Indictment: NJSP Trooper Put Female Motorist In Fear By Stopping Her Twice, Following Her Home
Indictment: Njsp Trooper Put Female Motorist In Fear By Stopping Her Twice, Following Her Home A New Jersey state trooper accused of pulling over a female motorist twice and then following her home to hit on her was indicted Thursday by a grand jury in Trenton. Michael Patterson, 29, of Bayonne first the victim for an unspecified offense on the New Jersey Turnpike on Jan. 28, 2020, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. After letting her go with a warning, Paterson “conducted a second, unwarranted stop of her vehicle a few minutes later when she exited the Turnpike at Exit 11….in order to make unwanted advances on the woman,” Grewal said. Patterson “put the victim in fear by …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates
Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates UPDATE: Four more correctional officers have been charged in the brutal beating and pepper-spraying of inmates at a New Jersey women’s prison, bringing the total to eight, authorities announced Thursday. Of the four officers newly charged for the January incident at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, one is from Maywood, another from Paterson, a third from Somerset and the other from East Piscataway. All four senior officers “purposely or knowingly attempted to cause serious bodily injury to inmates as an accomplice or as a principal by using force beyond what was objectively reasonable …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says
Deadly Police Shooting Of 'Emotional, Confused' Man Battling Cancer Was Unjust, Daughter Says It wasn't brain or lung cancer that killed a 62-year-old Berks County man battling both. Rather, a police shooting on Monday that his daughter is calling a tragic and unjust misunderstanding that could have been avoided and handled differently. Steven Hughes of Muhlenberg Township was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer early last year and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for both ever since. The treatment often leaves him confused -- according to his daughter, Anjie Leigh Hughes, of Montgomery County -- which was exactly the case Monday afternoon, when he reporte…

SHARE

by Nicole Acosta
News
COVER-UP: Essex Correctional Officers Beat Detainee As Sergeant Stood By, Feds Charge COVER-UP: Essex Correctional Officers Beat Detainee As Sergeant Stood By, Feds Charge
Cover-up: Essex Correctional Officers Beat Detainee As Sergeant Stood By, Feds Charge Three Essex County correctional officers beat a federal detainee as a sergeant stood by, said authorities who charged all four with civil rights violations. The detainee – who was being held pending a federal trial -- squirted a mixture of urine, yogurt, and milk onto a correctional officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF) the evening of Aug. 17, 2020, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Friday. The detainee was brought to a disciplinary cell and beaten by Officers Angel Chaparro, 38, Damion James, 40, and Luis Ortiz, 29, in front of Sgt. Herman Pride, 51, Honig said.…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Report: Atlantic City Police Sergeant Used Wine Bottle As Weapon, Pushed Woman From Home Report: Atlantic City Police Sergeant Used Wine Bottle As Weapon, Pushed Woman From Home
Report: Atlantic City Police Sergeant Used Wine Bottle As Weapon, Pushed Woman From Home An Atlantic City police sergeant was arrested last month for threatening a woman with a wine bottle and then physically pushing her out of a house, according to a recent news report. Mohammed Kaiser was taken into custody on Feb. 3 in Absecon and charged with simple assault by attempting to cause bodily injury, NJ.com reports citing the criminal complaint. The woman feared for her safety as Kaiser held the bottle toward her, the complaint says. Kaiser has reportedly been reassigned to a desk job as he awaits a March 22 court appearance. Kaiser was hired in 2013 and promoted to his current…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Union City Officer From Clifton Gave Police Database Info To 'Criminal Enterprise' Prosecutor: Union City Officer From Clifton Gave Police Database Info To 'Criminal Enterprise'
Prosecutor: Union City Officer From Clifton Gave Police Database Info To 'Criminal Enterprise' A Union City officer surrendered to authorities after accessing the police database then giving information to a criminal enterprise, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Friday. Weslley Hernandez, 29, of Clifton, accessed the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Database on multiple occasions in June of last year to obtain information "for purposes other than those authorized by his employment as a police officer," Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. “When it was brought to our attention that an officer from an unknown jurisdiction may be using his position to p…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Bergen Prosecutor Takes Control Of Troubled Englewood PD's Internal Affairs Unit Bergen Prosecutor Takes Control Of Troubled Englewood PD's Internal Affairs Unit
Bergen Prosecutor Takes Control Of Troubled Englewood PD's Internal Affairs Unit The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has assumed control of the troubled Englewood Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit from Chief Lawrence Suffern for at least the next six months amid accusations that he singled out officers for punishment by denying them extra-work opportunities. A six-month investigation into the department’s internal affairs operation made the move necessary, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and Englewood City Manager Sonia Alves-Viveiros said in a joint statement Wednesday. Both signed a memorandum of agreement placing a full-time monitor from Musella’s off…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Bodycams Show Moments Before Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80 VIDEO: Bodycams Show Moments Before Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80
Video: Bodycams Show Moments Before Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80 Body camera footage released Friday shows a diabetic Paterson driver who died following a traffic stop having a medical episode in the back of a State Police cruiser. Troopers handcuffed Sergio Rodriguez, 51, and led him to the marked SUV after finding heroin in his car during a June 27 stop outside their Totowa barracks on Minnisink Road, the footage released by state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal shows. Rodriguez tells the troopers that he’s low on insulin, so one asks him whether they should call EMS. Rodriguez says he doesn’t want his family finding out, but the trooper insists. “…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Alleged Coverup Probed After Saddle Brook Officer Leads Ridgefield PD On High-Speed Chase Alleged Coverup Probed After Saddle Brook Officer Leads Ridgefield PD On High-Speed Chase
Alleged Coverup Probed After Saddle Brook Officer Leads Ridgefield PD On High-Speed Chase A Saddle Brook police officer was suspended without pay and two of his colleagues suspended with pay Thursday following a reckless high-speed chase and alleged subsequent coverup. Saddle Brook Officer Andres Morales, 28, was off duty when a uniformed officer in Ridgefield tried to stop his speeding BMW on Broad Avenue 2:35 a.m. Oct. 3. Morales kept going, however, exiting onto Route 46 and then onto westbound Route 80, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. At the Route 80 split, Morales suddenly veered from the right local lane across several lanes into the express lanes, apparently …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Charge Dismissed Against BLM Leader Accused Of Punching Man At Boardwalk Protest Prosecutor: Charge Dismissed Against BLM Leader Accused Of Punching Man At Boardwalk Protest
Prosecutor: Charge Dismissed Against BLM Leader Accused Of Punching Man At Boardwalk Protest A 28-year-old Black Lives Matter leader accused of simple assault during an August protest had the charges against him dismissed. Jamaal Holmes, of Toms River, was charged with simple assault after police said he punched Robert Lay, 68, in the face during the protest. Holmes said he was simply protecting himself and never punched anyone, according to earlier news accounts. On Friday, Ocean County Bradley D. Billhimer agreed, saying the charge had been dismissed after interviews with witnesses and a review of video from the boarwalk. Several additional independent witnesses came f…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
WATCH: Authorities Release Videos Of Man Apparently Overdosing, Dying In Trenton PD Custody WATCH: Authorities Release Videos Of Man Apparently Overdosing, Dying In Trenton PD Custody
Watch: Authorities Release Videos Of Man Apparently Overdosing, Dying In Trenton PD Custody Newly released bodycam and dashcam footage shows Trenton police struggling to safely arrest then desperately revive a Pennsylvania man who became unresponsive in their custody and later died. Police were called to the area near St. Francis Medical Center around 11:45 a.m. April 3, where a man later identified as Stephen A. Dolceamore, 29, was walking into traffic and acting erratically, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Officers forced Dolceamore to the ground after he tried running away, but became unresponsive while he was on the ground, Grewal said. An officer can be he…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Authorities: Newark Officers Turned Off Cameras In Attempt To Conceal Motor Vehicle Pursuit Authorities: Newark Officers Turned Off Cameras In Attempt To Conceal Motor Vehicle Pursuit
Authorities: Newark Officers Turned Off Cameras In Attempt To Conceal Motor Vehicle Pursuit A pair of Newark police officers were remanded to administrative duties after violating protocol during a motor vehicle pursuit, authorities said. The officers turned off their dash- and body-cams, and failed to report the pursuit, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said. The violations came to light during an investigation by the transparency and risk analysis team, a sub-unit of the Newark Police Division’s Office of Professional Standards.  The actions of the officers -- who both have two years' tenure -- have been referred to the Essex County Prosecutor’s O…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine