UPPER DEERFIELD, NJ — A state trooper has been charged after punching a handcuffed woman with a flashlight in his hand, authorities said.
Nicolas J. Hogan was charged Wednesday with aggravated assault causing significant bodily injury (third-degree) for the September 2022 incident in Cumberland County, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
He was suspended without pay that day.
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On Sept. 7, 2022, state troopers responded to an early-morning report of a trespasser at an Upper Deerfield Township home. On their way, the officers encountered the individual who the caller described, the OAG said.
The woman was walking in the middle of the road and appeared inebriated, according to investigators. Police called for medical personnel after determining she needed an evaluation. Additional troopers, including Hogan, arrived during this time, the OAG said. (State Police are responsible for law enforcement in Upper Deerfield, which doesn’t have its own police agency.)
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According to the investigation, the woman became increasingly distraught that she was being detained and began weeping.
“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,” the OAG said in a news release.
The woman repeatedly protested the detainment and attempted to walk away, resulting in troopers handcuffing her and placing her in one of their cars, authorities said.
Although detained, she was not getting arrested.
She asked for a tissue multiple times inside the vehicle but never received one, the OAG said. At one point, she spat in the direction of a trooper standing near the open rear passenger side door, according to investigators.
Hogan, standing outside the rear driver’s side, opened the door and warned the victim, “If you f***ing spit on a trooper,” as she turned and spat in his direction, officials said.
The trooper then punched the victim in the face while holding a flashlight in that hand, according to the OAG. The woman’s hands were cuffed behind her back, and she was secured in the back seat during that moment, authorities said.
Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, was charged via complaint summons. If convicted, third-degree offenses can carry 3-5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
The trooper has a salary of $67,128, with two years of State Police service, according to pension records.
“The vast majority of New Jersey’s law enforcement officers exhibit professionalism and extraordinary restraint in the course of their duties and while dealing with trying circumstances,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “We will not allow situations like this one … to damage the reputation of our hardworking and admirable law enforcement community.”
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