Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that married detectives with the New Jersey State Police were charged criminally today for allegedly filing false reports about their conduct during a physical altercation in a bar in North Wildwood, in February 2020.
According to officials, Detective Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Ogden, 52, and Detective Sgt. Dorothy Ogden, 46, (husband-wife) both of Hammonton, were charged today by complaint-summons with fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.
They were charged by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
The New Jersey State Police Office of Professional Standards initially investigated this matter and referred it to the OPIA Corruption Bureau.
According to police, on February 22, 2020, Gregory and Dorothy Ogden were at the Exit 6 Bar in North Wildwood when they were involved in a physical altercation with other patrons, during which Gregory was struck in the head with a bottle.
Police said that the incident resulted in the North Wildwood Police Department responding to an aggravated assault complaint.
According to official reports, the couple failed to immediately notify their chain of command in the New Jersey State Police as required.
Instead, they waited two days and then submitted official New Jersey State Police Special Reports, dated February 24, 2020, that falsely described what had occurred, particularly their conduct during the incident, as revealed by video footage and other evidence.
According to officials, in his report, Gregory Ogden claimed he was inadvertently struck by a bottle as a bystander after emerging from a bathroom.
He wrote, “[t]his disturbance did not involve myself nor any of the two individuals I was at the establishment with.”
Video from the bar, on the other hand, shows him directly involved in the “disturbance,” pushing multiple people, and/or attempting to strike another patron (“Individual-1”).
Specifically, the video shows him charging after Individual-1 as bouncers were escorting Individual-1 from the bar. Gregory Ogden is then seen grabbing and pulling on the hood of Individual-1’s sweatshirt, throwing two punches in Individual-1’s direction, and striking a bouncer in the process.
Individual-1 subsequently struck Gregory Ogden with a bottle, but this is not captured in the video footage.
In her report, Dorothy Ogden falsely described losing her husband in the bar and then only finding him once he was outside of the bar with a bloodied face.
Video, on the other hand, shows her clearly involved in the physical altercation, pushing multiple people, including Individual-1, who later struck her husband with a bottle.
Video also shows her pushing bar security personnel who intervened.
Fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.