Shortly after 14-year-old Radazz Hearns was shot seven times in the legs and buttocks by Trenton, New Jersey police, an officer used a juvenile court database to find and leak the teenager’s mugshots.
Last August, a state trooper and an officer from Mercer County were responding to gunfire near an apartment complex in Trenton when they saw a group of three teenagers, including Hearns, in the area of the reported shots. When they exited their unmarked patrol car and ordered the teenagers to put their hands up, Hearns tried to flee. According to the police, the teenager pointed a gun in their direction, so they gunned him down in self-defense. But one eyewitness claimed Hearns was trying to pull up his pants, and findings by the state attorney general’s office differed from the officers’ account of what happened.
Hearns, who is now 15 years old, later informed an associate that he actually tried to throw the handgun that was in his possession — which a witness corroborated. Prosecutors declined to send him to adult court, so the teenager was charged in juvenile court for possession of a handgun, possession of a defaced firearm, and aggravated assault. After turning down more than 20 plea deals, he eventually pled guilty to having a defaced firearm in his possession, under the condition that his record would be expunged when he turned 18. By having that record erased, Radazz will have a clean slate as an adult.
But long before his decision to plead out, a county officer jeopardized the teenager’s future by leaking Hearns’ mugshot photos.
On Tuesday, former Mercer County officer Christopher McKenna admitted to illegally finding and sharing the juvenile’s court records. State law prohibits officers from accessing juvenile records and photos, unless that information is needed for police work. McKenna violated the law by using the database to find mugshots of Hearns, which he then leaked to the Trentonian, a local newspaper.
The officer was previously accused of alerting the publication about Hearns’ arrest records as well.
According to the Juvenile Law Center (JLC), minors’ court records should be kept private because they contain personal information about their “social history, mental health history, substance abuse history, education, and involvement with the law.” If those records become public, they can reduce the likelihood of securing a job, receiving an education, and finding employment in the future.
“Retention of juvenile records does little to improve public safety but creates significant barriers to success for youth who are trying to move beyond the mistakes they made as a kid,” a JLC attorney explained in 2014. “Permanent, open records are like a ball and chain that prevents youth from becoming productive adults, reducing opportunities for employment, eroding the tax base and can lead to increased recidivism due to reduced job prospects.”
By leaking Hearns’ photos, McKenna publicly smeared the teenager’s reputation and put his future prospects at risk. Now, the former officer is barred from all public employment in the state, and could spend up to 364 days behind bars.