TRENTON -- A State Police trooper offered to get rid of an arrest warrant in exchange for sex from the person being sought, but was allowed to resign without being criminally charged, according to a new misconduct report.
The trooper, who was not identified, also failed to make an arrest in the case. Other offenses noted in an internal report that highlights 16 incidents in 2013, include pepper spraying a suspect without cause, harassment, drunken driving, moonlighting without permission and getting into fights.
In the court-ordered arrest warrant case, the trooper was suspended without pay for 499 days before resigning, the report said. A spokesman for State Police, Capt. Stephen Jones, said the trooper was in the process of being fired and was not eligible for a pension.
He declined to provide more details about the incident or the trooper's tenure.
A spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, Peter Aseltine, defended the decision not to file criminal charges.
"This was thoroughly investigated by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in conjunction with the (State Police) Office of Professional Standards, and the county prosecutor made a legal determination there was insufficient evidence to charge," Aseltine said.
The prosecutor's office declined comment.
Six troopers in 2013 were disciplined for less severe offenses, the report said, such as failing to collect information at an accident scene, misusing a computer database, inappropriate comments, failing to report an alcohol violation and making threats.
The annual misconduct report, put in place as part of previous federal oversight of the State Police, also included discipline handed out as part of unauthorized high-speed escorts of luxury sports cars in 2010 and 2012 that were first disclosed by The Star-Ledger.
Another 68 written reprimands were issued for minor offenses.
In total, the internal affairs unit opened 197 cases involving 265 troopers, or about 11 percent of the force, in 2013. While that was the fewest number of new cases since at least 2009, the size of the force during the same period decreased by about 500.
Aside from the arrest warrant case, here are the five most serious penalties from 2013:
1. Suspended 637 days and reduced in rank: Trooper pleaded guilty to using his position to secure unwarranted privileges, disobeying a written order, misusing an assigned troop car and moonlighting without permission. The trooper had a personal/sexual relationship with a subordinate civilian employee, failed to report the relationship as required and counseled another trooper without justification when the trooper questioned the whereabouts of a civilian employee.
2. Suspended 240 days: Trooper pleaded guilty to being under the influence of an intoxicant and drinking alcohol while on-duty.
3. Suspended 211 days: Trooper violated a municipal ordinance by being involved in physical altercations on two separate occasions resulting in a police response.
4. Suspended 180 days: Trooper used pepper spray on a suspect without justification and then submitted a false report about it.
5. Suspended 180 days: Trooper pleaded guilty in municipal court to driving while intoxicated.
Christopher Baxter may be reached at cbaxter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cbaxter1. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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