NJ Trooper Accused Of Unlawfully Stopping Woman Pleads Guilty

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A New Jersey state trooper who police say followed a woman and pulled her over as she got off the Turnpike in Woodbridge — because he wanted to ask her out — has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced to one year in prison.

Trooper Michael Patterson, 30, of Bayonne pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of fourth-degree tampering with public records before Superior Court Judge Andrea Carter in Middlesex County.

In pleading guilty, Patterson admitted that he purposely disabled the dashboard camera in his State Police squad car to prevent it from capturing the motor vehicle stop. He pulled the car over to make romantic advances on the female driver, said acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew Bruck.

This happened on Jan. 28, 2020: Patterson first pulled the woman over on the New Jersey Turnpike at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Patterson let the woman go with a warning, but he then conducted a second, unwarranted stop of her car a few minutes later after she got off the Turnpike at Exit 11, the Woodbridge exit.

The Attorney General said Patterson followed the woman home in his patrol car, putting the woman in fear. The AG said he pulled her over the second time to make advances on her.

Under the plea agreement, Patterson will be sentenced to 12 months in state prison without possibility of parole.

He also must forfeit his position as a state trooper and will be permanently barred from public employment. Sentencing is scheduled for October 18.

“We are committed to holding law enforcement officers accountable when they abuse their positions of trust,” said Acting Attorney General Bruck. “The New Jersey State Police expect the highest standards of conduct from their troopers, and the vast majority meet those standards each and every day. We owe it to the troopers, and to the public at large, to take strong action when individual officers betray those standards and engage in criminal conduct.”

“The conduct revealed in this investigation stands in stark contrast to the core values of the New Jersey State Police and is a betrayal to the public and to the entire law enforcement community,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

Patterson's defense attorney was Joseph Surman of New Brunswick.

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