Sheriff's Officer Charged with Simple Assault and Filing False Report

Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has announced that a Middlesex County Sheriff's Office has been suspended without pay and charged with simple assault and filing a false report against a Perth Amboy woman.

Lawrence Madigan, 51, of Jamesburg was charged Wednesday with submitting a false report, false swearing and tampering with public records, all third and fourth degree offenses, according to a press release from the Prosecutor's Office. 

He also was charged with  filing a false report and simple assault of the woman, both of which are disorderly persons offenses.

The charges stem from an incident on Aug. 1 in which the 38-year-old woman was at Family Court in New Brunswick, where Madigan was on patrol.

According to the release, the woman was leaving the courtroom when Madigan called her back, and then allegedly grabbed her by the arm. The woman pulled away and Madigan threw her to the floor and handcuffed her, the release said. 

Further information on what caused Madigan to call the woman back to the courtroom was not immediately available.

An investigation by the Prosecutor's Office and the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department determined that Madigan assaulted the woman and then falsely
charged her with resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer.

The charges against the woman have been dismissed by the Prosecutor's Office, the release said.

Madigan has been suspended without pay and was released on his
own recognizance pending the outcome of the charges, the release said.

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