Paterson, NJ police officer arrested and charged with shoplifting

A city police officer who was named Officer of the Month last September was accused of shoplifting at a Paterson department store where he also worked as a security guard, authorities said.

Jeury DeJesus-Rodriguez, 25, was charged with third-degree abuse of office, shoplifting and disturbing the peace, Passaic County District Attorney Camelia Valdes said in a news release.

DeJesus-Rodriguez is accused of stealing several items of clothing from the Marshalls store at Center City Mall in Paterson, authorities said. The officer allegedly took the items of clothing – valued at a total of $66.97 – to an employee restroom at the store, where he removed the packaging and price tags and later left the store without paying for them.