TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced that a New Jersey State Police trooper from Gloucester County has pleaded guilty after punching a woman in the face while holding a metal flashlight in his hand, while the victim was handcuffed in the backseat of a police vehicle and awaiting a medical evaluation.

During a plea hearing on July 25, 2024, Nicolas J. Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with one count of third-degree aggravated assault. The hearing took place before state Superior Court Judge Joseph M. Chiarello, presiding in Cumberland County.

Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), Hogan entered into a consent order banning him for life from holding public office and public employment. Prosecutors will recommend, during an upcoming sentencing hearing, that the court order Hogan to serve a term of probation, conditioned on his serving up to 364 days in county jail.

“Law enforcement officers face difficult circumstances and put their lives on the line every day.  But they must exercise discretion when they need to use force,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The defendant in this case inexcusably crossed the line, and he has been held accountable for his conduct.”

“Law enforcement officers often interact with people having the worst day of their lives,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “But they cannot allow themselves to be provoked into using force that does not serve a legitimate public safety interest.  When officers unnecessarily and illegally harm a member of the public, they deteriorate the public’s fragile trust and they will face consequences.”

Based on the documents filed in the case and the investigation, the victim was assaulted by Hogan on September 7, 2022, in Upper Deerfield Township, Cumberland County, while he and other troopers were waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive to evaluate the victim.

The incident occurred after NJSP troopers 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, and she appeared to be inebriated, 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 became increasingly distraught that she was being detained and she 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. The victim was detained but not under arrest.  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. Trooper 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. Trooper Hogan then punched the victim in the face while holding a metal flashlight in his hand. At the time, the victim’s hands were in handcuffs behind her back and she was secured in the vehicle’s backseat.

Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Niccole Sandora prosecuted the case for OPIA, under the supervision of OPIA Corruption Bureau Deputy Chief Marian Galietta, Corruption Bureau Chief Jeffrey J. Manis, and OPIA Executive Director Skinner.

Defense counsel:

Anthony Pope, Esq., Newark, New Jersey

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