4 Hudson County Corrections Officers On NJ 'Discipline' Report

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Four Hudson County Corrections officers faced "major disciplinary action" in the second half of 2020 according to a report released by the Attorney General on Tuesday.

The Hudson County Corrections Department had to report the names and incidents to the Attorney General, who released the names and agencies of officers who were fired, demoted or suspended five or more days from June 15, 2020 to the end of the calendar year.

In June, former Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal gave all New Jersey law-enforcement agencies two months to publicly release certain disciplinary info. The directive came after the New Jersey Supreme Court authorized the public release of such info on a going-forward basis.

"Today, New Jersey takes an important step forward, joining the majority of U.S. states that disclose the identities of law enforcement officers found responsible for engaging in serious disciplinary violations," said Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck. "We are releasing this information not to shame or embarrass individual officers, but to provide the same type of transparency and accountability in policing that New Jersey mandates in other essential professions."

The Hudson County Corrections officers who were disciplined, and the incident is listed below, as it is listed on the AG's site:

• Sergeant Stephen Gill
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 5
  • Description: Sgt. Gill failed to perform his duties and responsibilities by not properly supervising staff and failing to perform an inspection of another officer under his supervision for proper uniform and equipment. This officer entered the jail facility wearing his duty weapon compromising the safey and security of the jail.
• Sergeant La-Toya Hobson
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 10
  • Description: Sgt. Hobson failed to perform her duties and responsibilities by not properly supervising staff and failing to perform an inspection of another officer for proper uniform and equipment. This officer entered the jail facility wearing his duty weapon compromising the safety and security of the jail.
• Officer Niove Ramirez
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 10
  • Description: Officer Ramirez allowed inmates to exit their cells uncuffed, and enter a cell not assigned to them. Officer Ramirez also allowed inmates to stand behind her uncuffed. A further check revealed that Ramirez' log book contained missing entries and security checks that exceeded the thirty-minute checks as required by General Housing policy.

• Officer Aida Ortiz
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 133
  • Description: Officer Ortiz' driver's license was suspended during the following time periods: August 19, 2019 - March 29, 2016; June 3, 2016 - March 5, 2018; April 27, 2018 - April 17, 2019; August 2019 - May 26, 2019. (This time period includes the entire year of 2017.) During these periods of time, Ortiz was assigned usage of a county vehicle 133 times.

Tuesday's report is just the beginning, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. Moving forward, local police departments will be required to release local information on a yearly basis.

The full summary can be viewed online.

This story includes reporting from Patch Reporter Josh Bakan.