The Paterson officer who admitted striking a man in a hospital and selling drugs while on duty will head to prison for more than five years.

Ruben McAusland, 27, pleaded guilty last year to selling marijuana, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine that he stole from a crime scene. McAusland sold the drugs to a person working with law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement.

Later, McAusland sold that person two pounds of marijuana, and pills that resembled Percocet but were actually made of heroin.

He also “lost his temper” on March 5, 2018 at a hospital with a man who had just attempted suicide. The fire department took the man to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Paterson and McAusland and another officer met him there.

McAusland first met the man, who was in a wheelchair, in the hospital waiting room. He pushed the man and punched him in the face, Carpenito said.

Later, in the man’s hospital room, McAusland put on a pair of gloves and struck the man twice in the face. The man had multiple facial injuries from the beating, including an eye injury that required surgery.

The other officer, Roger Then, is awaiting sentencing on charges that he filmed the hospital room assault on his phone and falsified reports to hide the beating.

U.S. District Judge William H. Walls levied the sentence Wednesday in Newark federal court. McAusland will face three years of supervised release and must pay $32,892 in restitution.

“Through prosecutions like this one, police officers like McAusland – who dealt drugs, stole from a crime scene, and viciously attacked a person who sought help from the Paterson Police Department – are removed from positions where they can violate the public trust and deprive others of their civil rights under color of law,” Carpenito said in the statement.

-This story has been updated to reflect that the man was not in handcuffs when McAusland struck him.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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