Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) announced the sentencing of a former New Jersey State Police (NJSP) trooper for a September 2022 assault in Cumberland County, in which he punched a woman in the face while holding a metal flashlight, as the victim was handcuffed in the back seat of a police vehicle.
The sentencing of Nicolas Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, New Jersey, was handed down by Judge Joseph M. Chiarello on September 30, 2024 in New Jersey Superior Court in Cumberland County.
Hogan was sentenced to two years of probation, conditioned on up to 364 days in the county jail. The court suspended the jail term. Judge Chiarello also permanently banned the defendant from all future public employment. Suspended without pay since November 2023, when he was initially charged, Hogan was terminated by the State Police in September 2024.
“This was an unjustified act of violence against a defenseless, distraught woman. It was not needed to control this situation — the victim was already detained and in handcuffs — and there was no legitimate objective to using force in this instance, violating policy and the law,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “The New Jersey State Police work every day in service of our communities, from providing vital policing duties and responding to emergencies to conducing complex investigations. This incident is not a reflection of the character or the professionalism of the many dedicated, hardworking, and courageous members of the State Police.”
“The badge cannot be used to excuse illegal conduct,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA. “This sentence illustrates that the improper use of force by law enforcement is unacceptable and no one is above the law.”
Hogan had pleaded guilty on July 25, 2024, to an accusation charging him with one count of aggravated assault (3rd degree).
Based on documents filed in the case and statements made in court, the assault occurred on September 7, 2022, in Upper Deerfield Township, Cumberland County, while the defendant and other troopers were waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive to evaluate the victim.
NJSP troopers had responded to a report of a trespasser at an Upper Deerfield Township residence around 1:30 a.m. On the way to the home, a pair of NJSP troopers encountered and identified the victim as the individual who had been described by the caller, walking in the middle of the road.
After the victim was stopped, troopers determined she needed a medical evaluation, and they called for medical personnel as additional troopers, including Trooper Hogan, arrived.
The victim was detained but not under arrest. She became increasingly distraught that she was being detained, and began weeping. The victim repeatedly protested her detainment and attempted to walk away, resulting in troopers handcuffing and placing her in one of the marked cars, where she asked multiple times for a tissue but was never given one. Prior to being placed in the vehicle, the victim was spitting on the ground, apparently because she had been upset and crying, and body-worn camera footage shows fluid and mucus on her face and falling from her mouth.
At one point, while in the back of the police vehicle, the victim spat in the direction of a trooper standing near the open rear passenger door. Hogan was standing on the other side of the car, outside the rear driver’s side. He opened the door and warned the victim, “If you f***ing spit on a trooper,” as the victim turned toward him and spat again, this time in his direction. Hogan then punched the victim in the face while grasping the metallic flashlight in his clenched fist. At the time, the victim’s hands were in handcuffs behind her back and she was secured in the vehicle’s back seat.
Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Niccole Sandora prosecuted the case for OPIA, under the supervision of OPIA Corruption Bureau Deputy Chief Marian Galietta, Bureau Chief Jeffrey J. Manis, and OPIA Executive Director Skinner.
Defense counsel:Anthony Pope, Esq., Newark, New Jersey
Original source can be found here.