NJ State Trooper Sentenced After Punching Handcuffed Woman in the Face

Nicolas Hogan receives probation and a ban from public employment after a 2022 incident involving excessive force.

MORRISTOWN, NJ – Former New Jersey State Police (NJSP) trooper Nicolas Hogan has been sentenced following a 2022 incident in Cumberland County where he assaulted a handcuffed woman with a flashlight. The sentencing was delivered on September 30, 2024, by Judge Joseph M. Chiarello in New Jersey Superior Court.

Hogan, 28, from Gibbstown, NJ, was handed two years of probation with a conditional term that includes up to 364 days in county jail, although the jail sentence has been suspended. Additionally, Hogan has been permanently prohibited from holding any public employment in the future.

“This was an unjustified act of violence against a defenseless, distraught woman. It was not needed to control this situation — the victim was already detained and in handcuffs — and there was no legitimate objective to using force in this instance, violating policy and the law,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

“The badge cannot be used to excuse illegal conduct,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA. “This sentence illustrates that the improper use of force by law enforcement is unacceptable and no one is above the law.”

The charges stem from an incident on September 7, 2022, in Upper Deerfield Township, where Hogan, while responding to a trespassing report, assaulted a detained woman who was not under arrest at the time. According to court documents, the victim, while handcuffed in the backseat of a police vehicle, spat in Hogan's direction. Hogan retaliated by punching her in the face while holding a metal flashlight.

The victim, identified during a routine check by NJSP troopers as a trespasser, was reportedly distressed and crying at the time of the incident, which escalated after she protested her detainment. Body-worn camera footage revealed her emotional distress, showing mucus on her face as she spat on the ground and later, in the direction of the officers.

Hogan’s actions were met with immediate consequences as he was suspended without pay since November 2023, following his initial charge, and was terminated from the State Police in September 2024. He pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree aggravated assault on July 25, 2024.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Niccole Sandora of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), under the supervision of higher-ups in the Corruption Bureau.

This incident and the subsequent sentencing underscore New Jersey's ongoing efforts to address and mitigate instances of excessive force and uphold standards of conduct within its law enforcement agencies. The Attorney General and OPIA have expressed their commitment to maintaining public trust and ensuring that justice is served in cases of misconduct.