6 correctional officers charged with lying about pepper-spray incident at state prison in Burlington County
Two officers also were charged with aggravated assault for the April 8, 2020, incident at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/J6YI4VSSP5CNXMUEC24BXB24LA.jpg)
A New Jersey grand jury has indicted six senior correctional officers in connection with a 2020 pepper-spraying incident at a state prison in Burlington County involving alleged illegal use of force and then lying about it in their reports, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday.
On April 8, 2020, five correctional officers and a sergeant used unwarranted force while attempting to remove an inmate from a cell at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield, a prison for young adults, prosecutors said.
Without giving the inmate verbal orders or a chance to otherwise comply and exit the cell peacefully, Sgt. Michael Emmert, 40, of Toms River, pepper-sprayed the inmate twice before the other correctional officers forcefully removed the inmate, prosecutors said.
The six defendants then filed false reports to give the impression that the use of force was justified, prosecutors said.
Besides Emmert, the other defendants are Christopher Toth, 40, of New Egypt; Mark Sadlowski Jr., 46, of Sewell; Raymond Quinones, 50, of Beachwood; Michael Gaines, 58, of Willingboro; and Michael Ambrozaitis, 60, of Southampton.
All six were charged with official misconduct, tampering with public records, and falsifying or tampering with records, prosecutors said. Emmert and Toth were also charged with aggravated assault. Toth was additionally charged with witnessing the excessive force and failing to intervene, report, or take appropriate action.
“New Jersey correctional officers work under trying circumstances and do essential work in the criminal justice system and in maintaining public safety,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.
“The alleged conduct of the officers indicted in this case does a discredit to every correctional officer who performs their duties with integrity. The mistreatment of young adults in the State’s care will not be tolerated and no one is above the law,” Platkin said.
On Tuesday, two senior New Jersey correctional officers were charged with sexually assaulting a teen who was being held at a juvenile detention center in Bordentown, Burlington County.