Charges Upheld Against Officer Accused Of Assault: Report

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A suspended Gloucester Township police officer accused of assaulting a 13-year-old girl is facing a trial after a superior court judge reportedly rejected a motion to dismiss three charges.

The attorney representing 27-year-old John Flinn, of Sicklerville, had argued that charges of child endangerment and official misconduct should be dismissed because members of a state grand jury were misled on the state’s policy governing use of force, NBC 10 reports. The judge ruled that jurors were not misled.

Attorney Louis Barbone argued that the prosecutor handling the case only highlighted certain portions of the policy in hopes that jurors didn’t know thatan officer is allowed to use force when the officer believes it is reasonably necessary in order to make an arrest, according to nj.com.

Barbone’s argument that jurors may have been confused by a detective’s testimony that Flinn hit the girl before she was handcuffed was also dismissed, according to the report. The video, which can be seen below, shows he is in the middle of cuffing her.

Flinn was charged with simple assault for hitting the girl on the right side of the face with an open hand twice while he and other officers responded to what law enforcement has referred to as a report of a disturbance on March 8, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. He was later indicted on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of official misconduct.

The officers were responding to a 911 call in which an unidentified woman reported that several people in the home were involved in a fight. She said they were “very aggressive” and “grabbing things to use as weapons.”

The video shows the officers subduing the girl. While she is face down on a bed, the officers handcuff her. One officer that hits her in the side of the head and says, “Stop resisting,” to which she responds, “I'm not.” The girl cried out after the officer hit her, as was described in the prosecutor's office's press release about the incident.

The incident was recorded by the responding officers' body-worn cameras, and later released by the prosecutor’s office. The girl was taken to the hospital for evaluation, and wasn't facing criminal challenges.

Another officer reported Flinn's actions, prompting an internal investigation. Flinn, a Gloucester Township police officer since 2015, was placed on immediate administrative leave when the internal investigation began, according to Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle. Earle then suspended Flinn on March 15, and referred the matter to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

See related: Investigation Of Cop Who Assaulted Teen Initiated By GTPD: Chief

See related: Video Of Cop Assaulting Teen Releassed

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