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Paterson, NJ police officer arrested and charged with shoplifting

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A city police officer who was named Officer of the Month last September was accused of shoplifting at a Paterson department store where he also worked as a security guard, authorities said.

Jeury DeJesus-Rodriguez, 25, was charged with third-degree abuse of office, shoplifting and disturbing the peace, Passaic County District Attorney Camelia Valdes said in a news release.

DeJesus-Rodriguez is accused of stealing several items of clothing from the Marshalls store at Center City Mall in Paterson, authorities said. The officer allegedly took the items of clothing – valued at $66.97 – to an employee restroom at the store, where he removed the packaging and price tags and later left the store without paying for them.

Valdes' press release did not specify when exactly the alleged crime occurred.

DeJesus-Rodriguez was hired as a Paterson police officer in January 2022 and earns a salary of $40,924. The city typically suspends police officers accused of crimes for 30 days without pay and then, as required by the Paterson police union's collective bargaining agreement, places them on paid administrative leave while charges are pending.

DeJesus-Rodriguez received the Police Officer of the Month award for his role in responding to a domestic violence call in which a suspect carrying a gun loaded with 18 bullets was disarmed.

The Cop of the Month award was created in 2023 to highlight the work of city police officers after the New Jersey Attorney General's Office took control of the Paterson Police Department in March of that year.

The charges against DeJesus-Rodriguez were the result of an investigation by the State Attorney General's Public Integrity Unit with assistance from Paterson's Internal Affairs Division.

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