TRENTON, N.J. (WCBS 880) -- An ex-New Jersey state trooper was sentenced to state prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to stalking a female driver in his patrol vehicle.
Trooper Michael Patterson, 30 of Bayonne, was sentenced to 12 months in prison without possibility of parole after he admitted to purposely disabling a camera in his car in order to avoid his actions being caught on camera.
“The New Jersey State Police expect the highest standards of conduct from their troopers, and the vast majority meet those standards each and every day. We owe it to the troopers, and to the public at large, to take strong action when individual officers betray those standards and engage in criminal conduct,” said acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew Bruck.
The incident happened in January 2020 on the New Jersey Turnpike, where Bruck said Patterson conducted a traffic stop, but let the woman driving go with just a warning.
But minutes later, Bruck says Patterson made an “unwarranted” stop of the same vehicle as she exited the Turnpike in Woodbridge.
The AG says this is when Patterson disabled the recording device in his car and made “unwanted” advances on the woman.
Following the second stop, an investigation showed Patterson followed the woman home, putting her in a state of fear, according to the attorney general.
Patterson was ultimately charged in June 2020 and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree tampering with public records. He was originally also indicted on official misconduct and stalking charges.
As a result of Patterson’s guilty plea, he forfeited his position as a state trooper and is barred from public employment in New Jersey.
Patterson had previously made the news when a retired officer he had pulled over was actually the man who helped deliver him.
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