A drug-dealing New Jersey police officer who was caught on video repeatedly hitting a suicidal man in the face in a hospital bed has been sentenced to more than five years in prison. Paterson Police officer Ruben McAusland, 27, was sentenced on Wednesday for assaulting the patient and repeatedly distributing drugs, including ones he stole from crimes scenes while on duty.
McAusland was filmed by his partner Roger Then striking the patient while on duty when they responded to reports of an attempted suicide victim in March last year.
The officers met the victim, who was in a wheelchair, in the waiting room at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey. McAusland admitted to pushing the victim and punching him in the face during the first encounter. His partner also allegedly grabbed the victim by the neck and pushed him to the ground. The patient was then taken to a hospital room where Then started filming on his cellphone.
He filmed McAusland putting on a pair of hospital gloves and violently striking the patient twice across the face while he was lying in a hospital bed.
McAusland and Then later filed a false police report purposely leaving out the assaults.
The victim suffered multiple injuries to his face, including an eye injury that required surgery, as a result of these assaults. In another case, McAusland sold various types of drugs to a police informant between October 2017 and April 2018.
In October 2017, McAusland sold the person approximately 35 grams of marijuana, 48 grams of heroin, 31 grams of cocaine, and 31 grams of crack cocaine.
McAusland admitted that he stole the drugs from a crime scene while on duty and in uniform as a police officer.He also sold the person two pounds of marijuana between November 2017 and January 2018. In addition, on multiple occasions between February 2018 and April 2018, McAusland sold pills that were made to resemble Percocet doses but were actually made of heroin.
McAusland pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in Newark federal court this week to 66 months in prison.
'The facts of this case are especially troubling to those of us in law enforcement,' Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie of the Newark FBI Field Office said.
'When an officer betrays the oath to protect and serve, it tarnishes the law enforcement community and puts the public at risk. The FBI prides itself on having a solid working relationship with our state and local law enforcement partners.
'But by no means will we look the other way if an officer or agent of the law is breaking the rules that he or she is sworn to uphold.'
In addition to the prison term, McAusland was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution of $32,892.
Then pleaded guilty before in December to one count of misprision of felony for concealing civil rights violations. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
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