MERCER COUNTY - The Mercer County Sheriff's Officer who was charged with illegally distributing mug shots of a juvenile who was shot in Trenton seven times by police in August was suspended without pay Friday, authorities said.
Christopher McKenna in this file photo. (NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
"After a hearing today, Officer Christopher McKenna has been placed on suspension without pay and the matter is under review by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office and the State Attorney General," Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler said in a statement Friday.
The suspension comes a day after the Office of the Attorney General announced that McKenna, 37, was charged with wrongful access and disclosure of information, a third-degree crime which carries a sentence of three- to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
McKenna on or around Aug. 21 used a restricted police database to get the arrest photos of the teen. McKenna last year drew a $69,525 salary, according to state records.
The Attorney General's office has never named the teen, nor anyone else involved in the shooting.
MORE: Radazz Hearns' mother wants release of juvenile record probed
Radazz Hearns, the teen who was shot during a confrontation with two State Police troopers and a Mercer County sheriff's officer on Aug.7, was identified by family members.
McKenna, a sheriff's officer since 2003, provided the photos to the newspaper, The Trentonian, which published them. Juvenile records are sealed and it is illegal to disclose them, the attorney general's office said.
The two officers who shot Hearns have been identified as State Police Detective Doug Muraglia and Mercer County Sheriff's Officer James Udijohn in an investigative document obtained by NJ Advance Media. State Police Trooper Blair Astbury was the third officer identified, but he did not fire his weapon.
Hearns has since been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a handgun and possession of a defaced firearm. Hearns' attorney has denied his client had a gun.
Hearns, who is now 15, will be tried in juvenile court after authorities decided against seeking to have the case moved up to adult court.
Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.