6 Hudson County Sheriff's Officers On NJ 'Discipline' Report

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Six Hudson County Sheriff's Department members faced "major disciplinary action" in the second half of 2020 according to a report released by the Attorney General on Tuesday. One investigator was terminated according to the report.

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

• Officer Jose Gonzalez
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 15
  • Description: Officer Gonzalez was suspended for 15 days for failing to take police action.
• Officer Victor Silva
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 20
  • Description: Officer Silva was suspended for 20 days for abuse of the sick leave policy.
• Officer Nicole Buzinkai
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 90
  • Description: Officer Buzinkai was suspended for 90 days for abuse of the sick leave policy.
• Investigator Paul Newman
  • Terminated: Yes
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: No
  • # of Days Suspended:
  • Description: Investigator Newman was terminated for driving an agency vehicle on more than one occasion, while his driver's license was suspended.
• Officer Jasmine Cruz
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 90
  • Description: Officer Cruz was suspended for 90 days for divulging the contents of a court proceeding to another party that was not present in the courtroom.
• Officer Gabriela Burgos
  • Terminated: No
  • Demoted: No
  • Suspended: Yes
  • # of Days Suspended: 10
  • Description: Officer Burgos was suspended for 10 days for being at fault for a Motor Vehicle Crash.

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.