New Jersey sheriff's officer charged with illegally giving juvenile's mugshots to newspaper
A New Jersey sheriff’s officer has been arrested on charges that he illegally leaked arrest photos of a juvenile shooting victim to a newspaper.
Mercer County sheriff’s officer Christopher J. McKenna is charged with wrongful access and disclosure of information, a third-degree felony punishable by three to five years in prison, NJ.com and the Associated Press report.
McKenna, 37, is accused of using a restricted police database to access photos of then-14-year-old Radazz Hearns, who was shot seven times in a confrontation with police in Trenton in early August. The photos were published in the Trentonian.
Juvenile records are sealed, and it is illegal to disclose them, according to the state attorney general’s office, which charged McKenna.
The attorney general’s office has never named the teen, who has been identified by family members.
A minister who spoke with Radazz’s mother, Slimes Jackson, said she was “encouraged” by the officer’s arrest. “We are excited to see that this first step has been taken,” said Rev. Lukata Mjumbe,
Radazz’s lawyer, Samuel A. Anyan Jr., said the leaking of juvenile arrest records must be taken seriously. “To allow such actions puts the civil rights of all New Jersey minors at risk,” he said.
The state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union joined with Radazz’s family to demand an investigation after the photos were published, the Associated Press reported. The ACLU also joined the Trentonian in calling for the state attorney general’s office to release the names of the officers who fired at the teen.
