A senior correctional police officer is accused of striking a handcuffed inmate at a state prison that houses younger adult offenders.Jason Parks, 40, is charged with second-degree official misconduct and third-degree tampering with public records or information, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Wednesday.Parks is currently suspended by the state Department of Corrections.While on duty Feb. 19, at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Bordentown, Burlington County, Parks allegedly struck an inmate in the head twice while that inmate was handcuffed with his arms behind him. The inmate was being held by two other correctional police officers and facing way from Parks at the time, according to the charges. The force of the blows knocked the inmate’s head against a wall. Use of force under these circumstances is not authorized by DOC rules and regulations, Grewal said.Park then allegedly filed a false special custody report, claiming the inmate cursed at him and threatened to spit in his face. In his report, Parks said he struck the inmate in the mouth with an open hand to prevent him from spitting, Grewal said. But surveillance video from the facility and witness statements contradicted those claims, according to the charges.Parks then allegedly directed another correctional police officer to falsify his report to match Parks’ report of the incident.The Wagner Youth Correctional Facility has housed inmates who are generally 18 to 28 years old. Most of those who used to be housed there have been moved to the nearby Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.Parks was charged on a complaint summons out of Mercer County and is not jailed.
