Mercer Detective Indicted For Unlawful Pepper Spray, Making False Statements

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A 19-year veteran of the Trenton Police Department has been indicted on charges of official misconduct and perjury stemming from a 2022 incident in which prosecutors say he unlawfully pepper-sprayed a man and then lied in a criminal complaint he filed against him.

A Mercer County grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Detective Aaron Bernstein, 51, of Marlboro, on April 16, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said Tuesday.

The charges stem from a May 10, 2022, incident in which Bernstein is alleged to have used pepper spray on a 27-year-old Trenton man in violation of the New Jersey Attorney General's Use of Force Policy, Marbrey said. Prosecutors said Bernstein then certified false statements when he filed charges of obstructing the administration of law and resisting arrest against the man in connection with the same incident.

The matter was referred to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office in December 2024 by the Trenton Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit, prosecutors said. Bernstein held the rank of detective at the time.

Bernstein is charged with charged with two counts of second-degree official misconduct, one count of third-degree perjury, one count of third-degree aggravated assault and one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Marbrey said.

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