By Matthew Enuco
NJ.com
PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. — A former Passaic County corrections officer was sentenced to 17 months in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to assaulting a pre-trial detainee in 2021 with two other officers, federal prosecutors said.
Jose Gonzalez, 47, pleaded guilty on May 28, 2025 to two counts of deprivations of rights under color of law and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Gonzalez was charged alongside two other corrections officers at the Passaic County Jail who pleaded guilty to the assault after the inmate squirted urine on an officer, authorities said.
The inmate, who was being held for pretrial detention, squirted the urine mixture on a corrections officer on Jan. 22, 2021, authorities said.
The next day, Gonzalez admitted to leading the detainee into a “blind spot” of the jail with two other officers, authorities said.
While the detainee was handcuffed, they assaulted him, knocked him to the ground, and struck him multiple times on the floor, authorities said.
The detainee was taken to the hospital the next day for his injuries and the officers never filed a use of force report which was required, according to authorities.
In March 2022, Gonzalez admitted to making false statements to federal agents who interviewed him during an investigation into the incident, authorities said.
After receiving federal grand jury subpoenas in April 2022, Gonzalez and the other officers agreed to not cooperate with federal investigators and maintain that the detainee had not been assaulted, authorities said.
One of the former officers, Lorenzo Bowden, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The other former officer, Sergeant Donald Vinales, pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law and conspiracy to obstruct on May 21, officials said.
Bowden and Vinales are awaiting sentencing.
In addition to his prison sentence, Gonzalez must serve two years of supervised release, officials said.
An attorney for Gonzalez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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