NJ state police trooper admits punching handcuffed woman in face

🔻 NJ trooper admits hitting woman

🔻 Victim was handcuffed, sitting in police car

🔻 Under plea deal, no public employment or office

A New Jersey state police trooper from Gloucester County has admitted to punching a handcuffed woman in the face, while she was sitting in a police vehicle, awaiting a medical evaluation.

On Thursday, 28-year-old Nicolas Hogan, of Gibbstown, pleaded guilty to third-degree aggravated assault in Cumberland County Superior Court.

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Under a plea deal, Hogan will banned for life from holding public office or public employment.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin said that prosecutors would recommend a term of probation, conditioned on Hogan serving up to 364 days in county jail.

2022 incident seen on body-cam video

The incident happened in September 2022 in Upper Deerfield Township, when troopers found the woman walking in the middle of a road.

While the woman was held for medical evaluation, she began crying and trying to way away.

She was handcuffed and detained, but not arrested.

Body-worn camera footage shows fluid and mucus on the woman's face amid her crying, according to the attorney general's office, and she spit on the ground several times before being put into the car.

Footage then shows the woman spitting in the direction of a trooper standing near the open passenger door.

Standing on the other side, Hogan warns the woman, “If you f***ing spit on a trooper,” as she turns and spits in his direction.

Hogan is seen holding a metal flashlight in his hand as he punches the restrained woman, according to body cam footage and state prosecutors.

“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,” Platkin said in a written release on Friday.

“The defendant in this case inexcusably crossed the line, and he has been held accountable for his conduct.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this report included a photo wrongly identified as the officer in this case. 

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