SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — A detective with the Trenton Police Department is facing several charges after he allegedly used unlawful force four years ago.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said a grand jury has returned a five-count indictment against 51-year-old Aaron Bernstein, of Marlboro.
Bernstein is accused of unlawfully using pepper spray on a 27-year-old Trenton man in 2022, then making false statements in charging documents filed against that man for obstruction and resisting arrest.
The matter was referred to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office by the Trenton Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit in 2024. Bernstein was a 19-year veteran of the force at the time of the incident.
He is now charged with two counts of official misconduct, as well as perjury, aggravated assault and a weapons offense.
