A Weehawken police officer who was allegedly involved in an off-duty bar fight last October was indicted Thursday on assault and weapon charges stemming from the incident. Officer Robert Jacobson, a five-year veteran of the Weehawken Police Department, received notification from a Hudson County Grand Jury Thursday that he was being indicted on four counts. The charges are second and third degree criminal aggravated assault and third and fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon, for the altercation that Jacobson was allegedly involved with a Jersey City man in Gennaro’s, a bar located in the Shades section of Weehawken. Because of the indictment, Jacobson has been taken off regular police patrol and has been assigned to duty in the department’s radio room. “In an extreme case like this, we have to look at all the circumstances,” said Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz last week. “Officer Jacobson has been permanently assigned to the radio room pending the completion of the criminal proceedings. He is replacing an officer who was assigned there on a rotating basis. Now, it will be Officer Jacobson’s assignment.” Welz met with Deputy Police Director Robert Zucconi to address Jacobson’s situation and decided to re-assign the officer rather than suspend him with pay. Zucconi, who used to work in the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, has lengthy experience in handling such matters and decided to keep Jacobson active. “We’ll keep him in the radio room,” Zucconi said. “We didn’t want to affect the coverage of the department. Instead of suspending him with pay, which basically would have been a paid vacation, we’re keeping the operations of the department intact.” Last October, the 24-year-old Jacobson allegedly was involved in a bar fight at Gennaro’s with 58-year-old Clarence Jones of Jersey City, while watching a college football game. Apparently, Jacobson and Jones exchanged heated words about the game and about their service to the U.S. Marines. Jacobson then allegedly struck Jones in the head with a beer bottle (the weapon named in the indictment), punched him in the face and repeatedly punched Jones in the head and body. Jacobson, apparently intoxicated at the time, fled the scene. Witnesses at the scene did not know that Jacobson was a police officer. As the Weehawken police began their investigation of the case, they uncovered evidence that led to the belief that Jacobson could have been involved with the beating of Jones, who needed approximately 40 stitches to repair the wounds he suffered. Two weeks after the incident, Jacobson was charged criminally with the beating. At first, Jones did not want to press criminal charges against Jacobson, but later changed his mind. The case has been under review by the Grand Jury since the time of the attack. If Jacobson is found guilty of the more serious charges, he would automatically be terminated in accordance to the Forfeiture of Rights Criminal Code, which applies to any officer convicted of a charge in the third degree or higher. But Jacobson could also face a jail sentence if convicted. He still awaits departmental charges from the Weehawken Police Department, regardless of the outcome of the trial. Welz said that Jacobson’s clean record helped in the determination that he remain an active member of the force for now. “Looking at the circumstances, this is an officer with an unblemished record, involved in an off-duty incident, plus the person issuing the complaint [Jones] did not want to press charges at first,” Welz said. “We took him off patrol and put him in the radio room, where he does not have contact with the public. We believe it was a fair move and we did the right thing.” Zucconi said that the case will probably not go to trial for anywhere from six months to a year. Welz did not want to downplay the severity of the case. “It’s a very serious matter,” Welz said. “A police officer has to realize that he is held to a different standard, both on and off duty. And the legal system is such to keep public servants in check. Police officers have to be responsible for their actions at all time. Just because they’re not working doesn’t mean they lose their police presence.”