Hopatcong, NJ cop admits to assaulting cuffed man in custody

🚓 Former police officer admits using excessive force

🚓 Victim's head was slammed into glass

🚓 Cop agrees never to serve again

HOPATCONG — A former township police officer has admitted to assaulting a man who had already been arrested.

Former Hopatcong police patrolman James Still, 39, pleaded guilty to simple assault in Superior Court for Sussex County on Tuesday.

His sentencing is scheduled for June 28. Still has agreed to leave his job as a police officer and never again hold public employment.

According to Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray, Still admitted to using excessive force on Nov. 7, 2023.

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The male victim had been arrested that night for driving while intoxicated, Murray said. He was taken to the Hopatcong police station for processing.

However, while the arrested man was in the lobby, Still grabbed his arm and hair and slammed his head into a glass partition. The man's face and head were injured.

The assault was captured on bodycam footage.

According to his LinkedIn page, Still was a Hopatcong police officer for eight years. He handled community relations and wrote the grant to get the bodyworn cameras that the police department continues to use.

Still remains a volunteer firefighter for the Netcong fire department where he has volunteered for 23 years, according to his LinkedIn.

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