Kingston, NY—Dion Johnson, age 35, of Newburgh, was arraigned on an eleven-count indictment in Ulster County Court before the Honorable Bryan Rounds in connection to various crimes committed in 2020 and 2021 during his four years as a police officer with the Town of Saugerties Police Department. Johnson was released to pretrial supervision following an application by the District Attorney for $25,000 cash bail.
On September 26, 2024, an Ulster County Grand Jury handed up an indictment including counts of Burglary in the Second Degree, a class C Felony, Sex Abuse in the First Degree, a class D Felony, along with other offenses relating to unwanted sexual contact and workplace sexual harassment.
The conduct alleged in the indictment included Johnson’s stalking and harassment of a victim leading up to a sexual assault and burglary of that same victim in late August of 2020. In July of 2020 through October of 2021, Johnson repeatedly engaged in such conduct while in uniform and cloaked with the authority of his public office as a police officer; he would be expected to charge and arrest any civilian who engaged in similar conduct. Like everyone else, Dion Johnson is not above the law.
The conduct was initially part of an internal affairs investigation conducted by the Saugerties Police Department. The investigation was later referred to the New York State Attorney General’s Office (“AG”), rather than to the New York State Police or to this Office. Upon completing its investigation the AG’s Office made a referral in July of last year to Ulster County District Attorney.
Interim Chief of Saugerties Police Department K.J. Swart said, “The Saugerties Police Department received a complaint alleging that Officer Dion Johnson, who
resigned in August of this year, was involved in misconduct. Resulting from that allegation, an investigation was conducted by the New York State Attorney General’s Office and later by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement’s greatest strength is public trust. When there is an allegation of misconduct by a police officer, that trust begins to erode, so it is important that these allegations are taken seriously and properly investigated.”
District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji said, “The conduct in this case is thoroughly disappointing and intolerable for anyone in law enforcement. It has the capacity to hemorrhage and severely tarnish the reputation of the Saugerties Police Officers and everyone who honorably serves in law enforcement. It undermines public faith in the integrity of police work and criminal prosecutions, and it can grossly impact otherwise credible criminal investigations if an officer who engages in such conduct were to become a key witness and cross-examined in a criminal case. Dion Johnson’s conduct as charged in the indictment is simply unacceptable for an officer.”
Dion Johnson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The case is being prosecuted by District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji and Sajaa S. Ahmed. Defendant is represented by Joey Drillings of the Office of the Ulster County Public Defender.
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