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N.J. BOE member, councilwoman indicted for allegedly assaulting cop

A Penns Grove, N.J., councilwoman and a borough school board member have been indicted for allegedly assaulting a uniformed borough police officer inside a public school July 10.

A Penns Grove, N.J., councilwoman and a borough school board member have been indicted for allegedly assaulting a uniformed borough police officer inside a public school July 10.

The officer, George Manganaro, was investigating a report of possible underage drinking at Penns Grove Middle School, where a youth basketball game had just ended, according to a news release from the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Inside the gym, Manganaro encountered Walter Hudson, 33, of the Penns Grove–Carneys Point Regional Board of Education, and Jeannette Jackson, 41, of the Penns Grove Borough Council, prosecutors said.

Hudson and Jackson allegedly physically obstructed Manganaro's investigation and assaulted him, according to the prosecutor's office.

Hudson is also accused of resisting arrest "with physical force and violence," allegedly forcing Manganaro to the floor and causing an injury to the officer.

A Salem County grand jury on Wednesday approved charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and obstructing administration of law against both Hudson and Jackson.

Hudson also faces a charge of resisting arrest by using physical force or violence, prosecutors said.

The state initially filed complaints in connection with the same incident charging Penns Grove Mayor John Washington, 71, with aggravated assault and obstructing administration of law.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office declined to prosecute those charges for insufficient evidence after assuming responsibility for prosecuting the case by order of the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

The prosecutor's office also declined to prosecute a complaint Hudson signed against Manganaro alleging simple assault, officials said.