A New Jersey grand jury indicted six top correctional officers over a 2020 pepper spray incident at a Burlington County state prison involving alleged unlawful use of force and then lied about it in their reports, it was announced on Wednesday the state Attorney General’s Office.

On April 8, 2020, five correctional officers and a sergeant used unjustified force while attempting to remove an inmate from a cell at the Garden State Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield, a prison for young adults. prosecutors said.

Without giving the inmate verbal commands or the opportunity to comply and peacefully leave the cell, Sgt. Michael Emmert, 40, of Toms River, pepper-sprayed the inmate twice before other correctional officers forcibly removed him, prosecutors said.

The six defendants then filed false reports to give the impression that the use of force was justified, prosecutors said.

In addition to Emmert, the other defendants include Christopher Toth, 40, of New Egypt; Mark Sadlowski, Jr., 46, of Sewell; Raymond Quinones, 50, of Beachwood; Michael Gaines, 58, of Willingboro; and Michael Ambrozaitis, 60, of Southampton.

The six were charged with official misconduct, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records, prosecutors said. Emmert and Toth were also charged with aggravated assault. Toth was also charged with witnessing excessive force and failing to intervene, report or take appropriate action.

“New Jersey correctional officers work under difficult circumstances and perform essential work in the criminal justice system and maintaining public safety,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.

“The alleged conduct of the officers charged in this case discredits any correctional officer who performs his duties with integrity. Mistreatment of young adults in the care of the State will not be tolerated and no one is above the law,” Platkin said.

On Tuesday, two top New Jersey corrections officials were accused for sexually assaulting a teenager who was being held at a juvenile detention center in Bordentown, Burlington County.