A New Jersey state police officer who punched a handcuffed woman in the face after she spat on him two years ago has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and will never be able to serve as a New Jersey police officer again, authorities said.
During a plea agreement hearing in Cumberland County last Thursday, suspect Nicholas J. Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, New Jersey, admitted to the September 2022 assault, which occurred while he and other officers were waiting for a medical professional to arrive and examine the intoxicated and distraught woman.
As part of his guilty plea, Hogan agreed to a consent order that bars him from holding any public office or public office for life, according to a statement from state Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
Prosecutors also plan to recommend that Hogan be placed on probation for as long as he serves the maximum year in county jail, the attorney general said.
“Police officers face difficult situations and put their lives on the line every day,” Platkin said, “but they must act with caution when it is necessary to use force. The defendant in this case unacceptably crossed a line and will be held accountable for his actions.”
The incident began with an early morning encounter at approximately 1:30 a.m. on September 7, 2022, when Officer Hogan and other officers responded to the scene in response to a report of a trespasser at a residence in Upper Deerfield Township.
Platkin said police found a person they believed to be a homeless person, matching the caller’s description, walking in the middle of a nearby road.
She appeared to be intoxicated, so officers called paramedics and emergency services.
Hogan was among those who later arrived on the scene.
But as officers tried to deal with her, the unidentified woman became increasingly distraught, the statement said.
She began crying and arguing with officers, asking why she was being detained, police said.
When she tried to leave, officers handcuffed her and placed her in the back of a patrol car, while she vomited liquid and mucus onto the ground, a sign of a mental breakdown, according to the complaint.
The woman, who was not arrested, continued to ask for tissues but no one would give them to her, according to the complaint.
She then appeared to spit at one of the officers who was standing near the open car door, Platkin said.
Hogan opened another door and warned her not to do it, saying: “You’re a bitch and you spit on a cop…” The woman then turned and spat directly at Hogan.
That’s when Hogan, still holding the metal flashlight in his hand, struck the handcuffed woman.
Officials said the move was unacceptable.
“Law enforcement officers often come into contact with people who are having the worst day of their lives,” Drew Skinner, director of the state’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, said in a press release.
“But they cannot allow themselves to be provoked to use force that does not serve legitimate public safety interests,” he continued.
“When officers unnecessarily and unlawfully put members of the public in harm’s way, they undermine the fragile trust of the public and will face consequences.”
