WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PA — A former New Kensington police officer is facing criminal charges after allegedly offering to help someone accused of drug possession if she set someone up for him.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced that Nathaniel Cochran, 25, has been charged with tampering with public record, unsworn falsification, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, official oppression, and obstruction of administration of law.
"This was someone who swore to uphold and protect the law, and within a few years of taking that oath, he egregiously defied and broke the law for his own personal benefit," Ziccarelli said in a statement. "This behavior contradicts what the public, rightfully, expects from a law enforcement officer and Mr. Cochran needs to be held accountable."
During an investigation into an unrelated complaint involving Cochran, the district attorney's office and county detectives received information that Cochran may have engaged in inappropriate communications with a defendant he arrested in November 2024 that ultimately resulted in Cochran withdrawing the criminal charges.
Cochran filed criminal charges against the defendant for drug possession following a traffic stop. At the time, Cochran allegedly told the defendant he could help her if she could set someone up. After the woman declined, Cochran provided her with a cellphone number for further communication.
Cochran said the number given was a work phone, but detectives determined New Kensington police patrol officers are not issued work cell phones.
Within days of the traffic stop, the defendant and Cochran began communicating on the personal phone number registered to Cochran.
The woman visited Cochran's home twice, and she allegedly was told not to worry about the charges against her.
In late November 2024, Cochran contacted the defendant and requested she meet him at a location in Delmont where Cochran asked her to delete the messages between the two of them. Cochran allegedly gave the woman $1,000 and withdrew the charges against her in December of that year.
As a reason for withdrawing criminal charges, Cochran claimed the woman was serving as a confidential informant. However, she told authorities she never worked as a confidential informant for New Kensington police Department, which was verified through the administration for New Kensington Police Department and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.
When questioned by detectives, Cochran claimed he did not know the woman. But a search of Cochran's cellphone revealed communication between the two.
Cochran remains under investigation for an unrelated complaint.
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