State cops charge city cop with indictable offense
TRENTON » A six-year veteran cop has been suspended and criminally charged on allegations she improperly accessed a computer database and disclosed its contents.
Officer Kanifah Wood, 30, of Willingboro, could potentially face three to five years in prison if convicted in this explosive case brought by the New Jersey State Police.
“Police Director Sheilah A. Coley and The Trenton Police Department takes allegations of wrongdoing very seriously,” Capt. Peter Weremijenko, a TPD spokesman, said Saturday via email. “We have cooperated fully with the NJSP investigation and will continue to do so. As with all criminal charges, Officer Wood is innocent until proven guilty, however, she has been suspended pending the outcome of those charges.”
State Trooper Patrick Squitieri signed a complaint summons against Wood Feb. 2 and personally delivered it to her, court documents show.
According to the allegations in the complaint, Wood purposely accessed certain TPD computer software without authorization on Sept. 14, 2019.
“The personal identifying information was knowingly or recklessly disclosed,” Squitieri alleges in the affidavit of probable cause. Wrongful access and disclosure of information is a third-degree crime under New Jersey state law, an indictable offense.
“I have no idea why she did it,” Mayor Reed Gusciora said Saturday. “I’m always concerned when things like that happen. The investigation has to play out.”
Wood has served on the Trenton Police force since September 2014, being assigned to the Patrol Bureau her entire career, Weremijenko said.
The decision to criminally charge Wood was based upon observations or statements made by an alleged eyewitness, and Wood also made statements or admissions in the case, Squitieri said in the preliminary law enforcement incident report obtained by The Trentonian.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office declined to release any further information on this case beyond the complaint Saturday.
Wood is summoned to appear in Mercer County Superior Court on Feb. 24.
Deputy Attorney General Brian Uzdavinis will prosecute the criminal case against Wood, according to the complaint summons. He may present the case to a grand jury in pursuit of an indictment.