Mercer Sheriff's Officer used
pepper spray on handcuffed woman, officials say
Alyssa Mease/The Times of
Trenton
A Mercer County Sheriff’s
Officer was suspended without pay last month after he allegedly pepper-sprayed
a handcuffed woman and then falsified his report detailing the incident,
officials said.
Sean Lavin, 42, is charged with
two counts of second-degree official misconduct stemming from the Dec. 6
incident and the allegedly falsified report, which was dated Dec. 10, according
to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and a complaint filed against Lavin by
the sheriff’s office.
“Sergeant Lavin used his
department-issued pepper spray to spray an arrestee in the face while she was
handcuffed behind her back,” the complaint said. The complaint is dated on Dec.
12.
Prosecutor’s office spokeswoman
Casey DeBlasio said the woman was ticketed by Lavin outside of a dance party
held at Sun National Bank Center on the night of Dec. 6.
“The victim was issued an
improper behavior summons,” DeBlasio said.
Four days later, Lavin
submitted a falsified report about the incident, the complaint says. It does
not say what information Lavin falsified.
“Sergeant Sean Lavin did file a
false Mercer County Sheriff’s Office investigation report,” the complaint said.
Lavin, a Hamilton resident, is
a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, and was promoted to sergeant in
March 2006.
His lawyer, Darryl Saunders,
did not immediately return a call seeking comment last night.
DeBlasio could not say how long
Lavin will be suspended for, or whether he will face any criminal charges.
