Ex-NJ corrections officer pleads guilty to inmate assault, cover up
BORDENTOWN - A former senior correctional police officer at a youth correctional facility here pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate in 2019, then covering up the incident, the attorney general announced on Tuesday.
According to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the former at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility corrections officer, Jason Parks, 43, of Gibbstown, admitted to twice striking a youth inmate in the back of the head while the inmate was handcuffed and restrained by other officers. After the assault, Platkin said, the officer attempted to cover up the incident by falsifying his report and convincing another guard to do the same.
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Parks appeared on Dec. 5 before the Judge Terrance R. Cook, in Burlington County Superior Court and entered a guilty plea to second-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct.
“Correctional Police Officers take an oath to maintain and secure the facilities where they are assigned,” Attorney General Platkin said in the news release. “The actions of the officer were not only unjustified and excessive, they were brutal and vicious. We will continue to hold law enforcement officers accountable to their promise to protect all New Jerseyans — including those in state custody.”
Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2023 before Cook. Park faces up to a decade in prison. Under the plea deal, Parks also agreed to permanently forfeit public employment in New Jersey.
Parks admitted he struck the inmate in the head twice while he was handcuffed with his arms behind him. The inmate was being held by two other officers and facing away from Parks at the time. The force of the blows knocked the inmate’s head against a wall, the attorney general’s office stated.
Parks' report after the assault claimed the inmate cursed at him and threatened to spit in his face and that he struck the inmate in the mouth with an open hand to prevent him from spitting.
Surveillance video from the facility and witness statements contradicted those claims. Parks directed another officer to write a report that backed up his false narrative. In his plea, Parks admitted to conspiring with that officer to commit official misconduct and violate the DOC’s rules and policies, the release said.
“Part of the Department of Corrections’ mission is running facilities that are not only secure but that also treat those in custody humanely, and this assaultive behavior will not be tolerated,” said Thomas Eicher, Executive Director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). “To make matters worse, Parks falsified documents and dragged a fellow correctional police officer into filing a false and misleading report.”
Celeste E. Whittaker is a news features reporter for the Courier Post, Daily Journal and Burlington County Times. The South Jersey native started at the CP in 1998 and has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college and high school sports and has won numerous awards for her work. Reach her by email at cwhittaker@gannettnj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @cp_CWhittaker.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Guilty plea entered by ex-NJ corrections officer for assaulting inmate
