Trooper indicted for harassing, pressuring woman
A New Jersey state trooper was indicted Thursday for allegedly conducting improper stops of two female drivers for the purpose of pressuring them to begin a personal relationship with him. The trooper also falsified records to cover up his actions, according to prosecutors who obtained a six-count state grand jury indictment charging 32-year-old Trooper Eric Richardson, of Camden, with official misconduct, criminal coercion, tampering with public records, falsifying records, wrongful access/disclosure of information, and obtaining information from a motor vehicle record.
“Police are given great authority and are rightly held to the highest standards of integrity,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a written statement. “When officers abuse their authority, as alleged in this case, they must be held accountable. Public trust and public safety demand it.”
Richardson was investigated by the New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards, which uncovered incidents involving two women whom he allegedly pulled over and harassed about initiating an intimate relationship. He stopped each woman repeatedly and deactivated the dashboard camera in his car during some of the stops, prosecutors say.
Richardson initially pulled over the first woman on Nov. 22, 2016, warning her that her windows were illegally tinted. Although her registration was expired, prosecutors say, Richardson attempted to win favor with her by not towing the vehicle and letting her drive away. But he followed her and activated his lights to stop her a second time. He then allegedly pressured her to give him a phone number, persisting even after she said she was in a relationship. Richardson later sent numerous texts to the woman using the number he obtained. On Jan. 3, 2017, Richardson allegedly pulled the woman over again in Atlantic City. He falsely reported in the official computer dispatch log that he stopped to aid a motorist, when in fact he allegedly stopped the woman to ask if she still had the same number and was receiving his texts.
On Dec. 23, 2016, Richardson allegedly pulled over the second woman in Gloucester Township and threatened to arrest her if she did not give him her phone number. Prosecutors say this is the basis for the criminal coercion charge. He allegedly pulled out his handcuffs and threatened to cuff the woman, whose license and registration were suspended, and there was a warrant for her arrest. After obtaining her phone number, Richardson released her, despite the active warrant. He allegedly told dispatchers and reported in the dispatch log that the driver he stopped on that occasion was a man. He later communicated with the second woman via texts using the phone number he obtained.
Prosecutors say the charges of wrongful access/ disclosure of information and obtaining information from a motor vehicle record relate to an incident on May 8, 2017 when Richardson illegally accessed the FBI—Criminal Justice Information Services database on behalf of a male friend to do a “driver inquiry” on a woman the friend employed to determine if her driver history reflected any warrants or drug activity. Richardson allegedly photographed her driver history and texted it to his friend.
Richardson was suspended by the New Jersey State Police after being charged by complaint in this case on May 31, 2017. He remains suspended.