NJ jury finds head-punching cop not guilty of brutality — Seen on video

CAMDEN — A federal jury has acquitted a police officer accused of using excessive force last year on a man he mistakenly thought was a gunman.

Camden County cop Nicholas Romantino faced 10 years in prison if he had been convicted on Monday.

Romantino has been suspended from the force since the February 2018 arrest and videotaped assault on Edward Minguela.

A video showed Romantino pulling the unarmed man to the ground, pouncing on him and punching him 12 times in the head. He and other officers joke about it afterward.

Romantino's first trial in June ended in a mistrial.

Romantino now faces an internal affairs investigation by the department and could lose his job.

The ordeal unfolded when officers responded to reports of a man with a gun. Minguela fit the description.