State Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman, sitting in Freehold, on Feb. 15 sentenced Steven Adams, a five-year veteran of the Red Bank Police Department, to 18 months’ probation on charges of simple assault and falsifying records, both disorderly persons offenses, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Adams, who pleaded guilty to the charges on Dec. 17, 2007, forfeited his position as a police officer with the Red Bank Police Department at the time of the plea and is barred from holding any future public office, a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
A Monmouth County grand jury returned an indictment against Adams in October 2007, charging him with two counts of second-degree official misconduct, and one count each of second-degree aggravated assault and fourth-degree falsifying records, the press release said.
The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred shortly after the conclusion of the annual fireworks display in Red Bank during the early morning hours of July 4, 2006, according to the press release.
During his plea, Adams admitted to causing bodily injury to a 22-year-old man after he was in Adams’ custody while in the parking lot at Red Bank police headquarters following his arrest on a charge of disorderly conduct. Adams also admitted during his plea that he misrepresented certain facts in his official police report regarding what transpired in the parking lot while removing the man from the police car, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
At the sentencing hearing, the charges of official misconduct and aggravated assault were dismissed. This plea agreement was reached after members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office consulted with the victim and his attorney, both of whom concurred with the plea agreement, the press release stated.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin stated, “The sentence imposed was fair and in the interests of justice. Adams forfeited his position as a Red Bank police officer and is permanently barred from future public employment. This constitutes an appropriate resolution to a matter wherein a police officer engaged in deliberately unlawful conduct.”