Cop Accused Of Stalking Ex; Giving Bogus Ticket To Ex’s New Partner: DA

NEW PALTZ, NY — A local police officer is accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend and giving an unjustified traffic ticket to her new partner.

Jerome Milton, 28, of New Paltz, has been indicted and charged with official misconduct, first-degree harassment, fourth-degree stalking, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, and second-degree filing a false instrument.

Milton was arraigned Wednesday in Ulster County Court before Judge Bryan E. Rounds, according to the Office of the Ulster County District Attorney. He is next due in court on July 28, court records show.

Milton is accused of stalking and harassing his former girlfriend, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors claim he also conducted an unjustified traffic stop of the ex-girlfriend’s new partner. Milton issued the new partner a traffic ticket, which was filed with the New Paltz Town Court and entered in state Department of Motor Vehicles records.

“Jerome Milton engaged in this conduct while in uniform and cloaked with the authority of his public office as a police officer,” the district attorney’s office wrote, in a press release. “Like everyone else, Jerome Milton is not above the law.”

New Paltz police had referred the ex-girlfriend’s harassment claims to the Ulster County District Attorney’s office. An investigation revealed the unjustified traffic stop, according to prosecutors.

New Paltz Police Chief Matthew Sutton said police have been cooperating with the district attorney’s office throughout its probe.

“The New Paltz Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and remains committed to upholding the integrity of this agency and the trust of the community we serve,” Sutton said, in a press release.

District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji said of the charges, “This is a sad but necessary step in reiterating and reinforcing that public office may not be used to abuse anyone or to hide from criminal conduct for which others are routinely prosecuted.”