A New Jersey corrections officer was arrested for allegedly trying to choke his girlfriend during a domestic dispute — which only ended when she smashed a wine glass on the side of his head, The Post has learned.
It’s not clear what prompted the July 21 argument between Sgt. Alwin Dickson, 42, of Passaic, New Jersey, and his unidentified victim — who cops would only say “meets the definition of a victim of domestic violence,” according to a complaint obtained by The Post.
But Dickson — a 22-year-veteran of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office who makes about $141,000 a year — was allegedly under the influence of either liquor or drugs when he went after her that Sunday in nearby Hackensack, where sources say his girlfriend lives.
“During the dispute, the actor pushed the victim into the refrigerator and then placed one hand around her throat, attempting to block her airway,” a local Hackensack cop wrote in the report, which also noted that children were present during the fight.
“The victim then struck the suspect on his head with a wine glass, resulting in a laceration.”
Cops arrested the hulking officer — who, according to jail records, stands at 6-foot, 6-inches tall and weighs 225 pounds — and charged him with second-degree aggravated assault.
He was released from jail the following evening, according to police sources and jail records.
His girlfriend complained of throat pain after the encounter, but refused treatment.
The department immediately stripped Dickson of his gun and suspended him with pay, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.
“Please adjust your rosters accordingly,” acting Sheriff Gary Giardina wrote in a brief internal memo obtained by The Post that announced the sergeant’s suspension.
Dickson could not be reached for comment Monday. His next court date is Aug. 21.
It’s the latest ordeal in a rocky year for the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, a north Jersey police agency responsible for protecting about a half-million people living northwest of Manhattan.
In January, the department’s longtime leader Richard Berdnik shot himself in the bathroom of a Turkish restaurant in Clifton, sending shock waves through state law enforcement circles.
Giardina — who stepped up to run the show in the sheriff’s wake — has dealt with a skew of issues since then, including layoffs and a federal probe that led to the arrest of three officers for allegedly assaulting a handcuffed inmate in 2021 and covering it up.
The office has also grappled with a lawsuit filed this spring that accused department brass of denying a female sheriff’s officer a promotion because there were false rumors about her romantic entanglement with an undersheriff, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
That undersheriff — Alwin Dickson’s cousin, Kevin Dickson — wrote in texts to the female officer that he had to “rescind your order” that would have made her a detective because of the political implications, the outlet said.
“The officers in the courthouse are already pushing rumors that I’m banging you and that’s me hooking you up,” the elder Dickson wrote in a text cited in the woman’s notice of intent to sue.
“There must be 100 orders with my name on it moving male officers,” he wrote in another text. “I’ve never been accused of banging any of them.”
Kevin Dickson resigned two months later.
