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Former Hamilton sergeant tells council he intervened to stop officer knee hold; urges better crisis response
Summary
At the Jan. 16 meeting James Walters, a retired Hamilton Township sergeant, told council he physically intervened to stop an officer applying a knee hold to a patient in mental‑health crisis, alleged supervisory inaction and cited possible violations of New Jersey use‑of‑force guidance and Title 18 U.S.C. §242.
A former Hamilton Township police sergeant told the council Jan. 16 that he forcibly intervened to stop an officer who had placed a knee on a female patient’s neck and shoulder while she was in a mental‑health crisis.
James Walters described the incident during public comment, saying he ordered the officer to stop repeatedly as the patient showed signs of distress and that his own intervention led to a physical confrontation in which he was…
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