Princeton University Cop Named In ‘Major Discipline’ Report Released By NJAG Office

PRINCETON, NJ — The New Jersey Attorney General's Office publicly released all the names of New Jersey police officers who were subject to "major discipline" in 2025 — and 14 police officers with six Mercer County police agencies are on that list.

On June 12, the state AG office released its annual Major Discipline Report, which lists details for hundreds of police officers in the state. The report covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.

According to the attorney general’s office, "major discipline" is defined as terminations, reductions in rank, or suspension of more than five days. Pending cases are not included in the data set.

The 2025 report shows that six Somerset County agencies had a total of eight officers subject to "major" discipline: one from Branchburg Township Police, one from Franklin Township Police, two from Manville Police, two from North Plainfield Police, one from Raritan Police, and one from Somerset County Department of Corrections.

Hopewell Township

Hopewell Township Sergeant Mark Panzano was suspended for 45 days and demoted in 2025 for "Insubordination."

"Sergeant Panzano was suspended for 45 days and temporarily demoted to the position of Patrol Officer for 3 months for divulging confidential information to a subordinate officer. The information was in regards officers rankings in the promotional process, in violation of a direct order given by a superior officer to all superivisors stating the results of the process were confidential. The internal affairs investigation resulted in a sustained finding on the charge of Insubordination."

Lawrence Township

Lawrence Township Patrolman Hector Nieves was terminated in 2025 for "Misconduct Unfit for Duty, Dishonesty, Insubordination, Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Neglect of Duty, Other Sufficient Cause (violation of department rules & regulations)."

"Former Officer Hector Nieves was alleged to have: misrepresented his location on numerous dates as a place he either never went to during his meal break or spent only a small portion of his meal break; entered the D&R Canal State Park in violation of Governor Murphy's Executive Order 118 (COVID19 related order); moved his vehicle's dash camera so that the park entrance signage prohibiting access and the raised canal path were not in view where he met another person in violation of Executive Order 118. Nieves was charged administratively, terminated after a local hearing and appealed the charges. Subsequently, his appeal was subsumed into a civil litigation complaint and the matter was settled in July of 2025 with him waiving the right to reinstatement or reemployment."

Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office

Mercer County Prosecutor's Office Detective Brittany Aspromonti was suspended for 364 days and then terminated in 2025 for "On or about December 6, 2023, Detective Brittany Aspromonti sent an anonymously authored letter to a victim’s family member stating that a case was being mishandled by members of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office."

"On Nov. 8, 2024, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office received notification from the N.J. State Park Police that they had recovered an off-duty firearm registered to Det. Aspromonti that had been left unattended in a bathroom at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City."

Pennington Boro Police

Pennington Boro Sergeant First Class Novin Thomas was suspended for eight days in 2025 for "Neglect of Duty."

"Thomas was suspended for 8 days for neglect of duty. The officer failed to properly supervise personnel and failed to respond to a call."

Princeton University Police

Princeton University Sgt. James Bowe was suspended for 10 days with pay in 2025 for "Neglect of Duty and Command Staff and Supervisor Duties."

"On Nov. 4, 2025, Sgt. Bowe responded to a report of a suspicious individual trespassing inside a university-owned living space, an area that is not open to the public. During the on-scene investigation, the individual was confirmed to be trespassing, and the sergeant's actions were inconsistent with departmental guidance for handling such cases because he failed to issue a complaint until later directed by his supervisor. An Internal Affairs investigation was conducted and resulted in sustained violations of two DPS rules and regulations."

Trenton Police

Trenton Police Officer Nasir Bland was terminated in 2025 for "Insubordination, Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Other Sufficient Causes, Neglect of Duty, Incompetency, Obedience to Laws, Ordinances, Rules, and Regulations, Work Expectations."

"Officer Bland was ordered by a supervisor to complete a Crash Report and an Investigation Report on an assignment and failed to complete both. Officer Bland also failed to complete numerous other Investigation Reports and did not activate his body-worn camera on those assignments. Officer Bland closed the assignments as Investigation Report Submitted without ever completing said reports ."

Trenton Police Lieutenant Nathan Bolognini was suspended for eight days in 2025 for "Neglect of Duty and Inefficiency or Incompetency of Supervisors and Superior Officers."

"Lieutenant Bolognini approved an Investigation Report and Use of Force Report without conducting a meaningful review of the Use of Force incident."

Trenton Police Officer Jason Bouchard was suspended for six days in 2025 for "Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Other Sufficient Causes, Standards of Conduct, All Other Conduct."

"Officer Bouchard, after arresting an individual during which he was assaulted, made a disparaging remark regarding the individual to the individual's juvenile child who was present during the arrest."

Trenton Police Officer Aaron Camacho was suspended for five days in 2025 for "Neglect of Duty and Obedience to Laws, Ordinances, Rules, and General Orders."

"Officer Camacho failed to intervene when another officer was using excessive force on a citizen and failed to report the incident to his supervisor contrary to the N.J. A.G. Guideline on Use of Force."

Trenton Police Trainee Zyaire Evans was terminated in 2025 for "Actions Involving Criminal Matters, Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Other Sufficient Causes, Standards of Conduct, All Other Conduct."

"Police Trainee Evans was arrested and charged with Criminal Offenses while off-duty."

Trenton Police Officer Michael Gettler was terminated in 2025 for "Conduct Unbecoming a Public Employee, Other Sufficient Cause, and Inability to Perform Duties."

"Officer Gettler failed a Random Urine Analysis by testing positive for Benzoylecgonine."

Trenton Police Sergeant Charles Lamin was suspended for 30 days in 2025 for "Inefficiency or Incompetency of Supervisors and Superior Officers, Accountability of Supervisors, and Obedience to Laws, Ordinances, Rules, and General Orders."

"Sergeant Lamin failed to take corrective action, properly supervise, and terminate a dangerous motor vehicle pursuit of his subordinate that resulted in the offending vehicle crashing into another vehicle being driven by an innocent civilian."

Trenton Police Officer Tomas Martinez was suspended for 10 days in 2025 for "General Causes-Other Sufficient Cause, Incompetency, Inefficiency, or Failure to Perform Duties, and Neglect of Duty."

"Officer Martinez failed to properly review a Complaint Warrant during a Domestic Violence incident. No probable cause was found for the Complaint Warrant and Officer Martinez entered the subject of the Complaint Warrant into N.C.I.C. as a wanted person even though it was not valid."

Trenton Police Lieutenant Bethesda Stokes was suspended for five days in 2025 for "Other Sufficient Cause, Performance of Duty Official Inefficiency Or Incompetency,and Obedience to Laws, Ordinances, Rules, and General Orders."

"Lieutenant Stokes ordered a lower-ranking officer from another bureau to turn over their issued police vehicle to her without any authorization from the Police Director or his designee."

"Maintaining faith in government and trust in law enforcement requires that residents know the State holds law enforcement to the highest professional standards,” said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. “Transparency and accountability are key to maintaining public confidence in our officers."

According to the information reported for the 2025 reporting year, 817 major discipline actions were taken by 169 agencies against 654 officers.

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