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New Jersey cop accused of slapping 13-year-old girl charged with assault

Click to play video: 'New Jersey cop seen slapping 13-year-old in body cam video charged with assault'
New Jersey cop seen slapping 13-year-old in body cam video charged with assault
WARNING: Video contains content some viewers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised. – Apr 10, 2018

A New Jersey police officer who has been captured on body cameras hitting a handcuffed teenage girl has been suspended and charged with assault.

Officer John Flinn, of the Gloucester Township police department, was sent to investigate a reported disturbance March 8 and encountered the 13-year-old girl.

NBC News reported the incident occurred at a group home, but did not provide details of the disturbance.

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Camden County prosecutors said the juvenile complied with police instructions and allowed Flinn to handcuff her. But prosecutors say he “struck her twice on the side of the face, causing her to cry out in pain.”

Prosecutors said his actions were captured on the body cameras of the responding officers. Twenty-seven-year-old Flinn, who has been on the force since 2015, was suspended. No criminal charges were filed against the juvenile.

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“I am grateful of the relationship that our officers have built with the community, and I am very confident that this incident will in no way will[sic] damage that relationship,” Gloucester police Chief Harry Earle said in his statement. “Our community members should rest assured that this incident was uncovered internally through our own checks and balances system and was not the result of a civilian complaint.”

The New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association was unavailable for comment Saturday.

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