Criminal charges filed against former New Kensington police officer

A former New Kensington police officer who is under investigation for a possible use of excessive force is now facing criminal charges in an unrelated case.

Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced Friday that Nathaniel Cochran, 25, has been charged with tampering with public record, unsworn falsification, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, official oppression, and obstruction of administration of law.

Former officer charged

Cochran is accused of taking $1,000 in cash from a defendant whom he arrested in 2024, later withdrawing the charges that had been filed against her. 

Ziccarelli said that Cochran claimed the charges were withdrawn because the defendant was working as a confidential informant. The defendant disputed the claim, which authorities said was verified by New Kensington police and by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.

"This was someone who swore to uphold and protect the law, and within a few years of taking that oath, he egregiously defied and broke the law for his own personal benefit," Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a press release. "This behavior contradicts what the public, rightfully, expects from a law enforcement officer and Mr. Cochran needs to be held accountable."

Officer accused of paying defendant 

The district attorney's office said Cochran originally filed drug charges against the woman during a traffic stop in November 2024. He told her he could help her out if she set someone up, and he gave her a phone number that he said was his work cellphone but was really his personal phone, Ziccarelli said. 

Within days of the traffic stop, the two continued to talk, and she was given Cochran's home address, where she visited twice and was told not to worry about the charges against her, the district attorney's office said.

Later that month, investigators said Cochran asked the defendant to meet him in Delmont, where he asked her to delete the messages between the two of them, giving her $1,000 in cash in return.

In December 2024, Cochran withdrew criminal charges against her, claiming she was a confidential informant, Ziccarelli said. But investigators said she told detectives she never worked as a confidential informant for the New Kensington Police Department, which was verified with authorities. 

Court records show that Cochran is due in court in late November for a preliminary hearing. 

Excessive force investigation

Cochran was suspended after a violent confrontation in August that put a trespassing suspect in the hospital with serious facial injuries. 

A couple said they were picking up apples in the yard of an abandoned house, but responding to a report of trespassing, police confronted the couple and a violent confrontation with Cochran ensued. 

Cochran later resigned amid an investigation.